Edinburgh Fringe: Wild West End – Pleasance Dome
Book: Adam Paulden and Matt Leventhall
Lyrics: By Andrew Doyle and Ed Clarke
Director: James McAndrew
Reviewer: John Roberts
The Public Reviews Rating: 
We have all heard of Forbidden Broadway, the satirical musical theatre show that lampoons stars and shows from the great white way…you may of more recently heard of Jest End a similar style of show that has played several west end sell out runs over the past few years so it comes as no surprise that the Fringe would become home to this type of production sooner rather than later. And so, Wild West End has arrived in Edinburgh.
Trying to do something a bit more original than having a series of songs to lampoon Adam Paulden and Matt Leventhall have created a rather limp script to hold everything together. Jackie, (Lawrence Hayes) is a musical theatre writer who wants to pen the next big production but has writers block, and so fairy godmother Linda (Laura Kaye Thomson) comes along to whisk Jackie to Sparkleton the place where every musical theatre character lives in hope he may get guidance from the great lizard to put him back on track.
Whilst the songs are witty, with a merchandise mickey take to Oliver’s ‘Who Will Buy?’ and a very funny solo by Dorothy (played with show stopping panache by Katrina Holloway) about having desires and needs the production never quite gels, mainly because the cast aren’t as strong other musicals on show at the fringe (with the exception of Holloway). Credit to Paul Holden Productions bringing new material to the fringe but it really needs to be of a higher standard if you are expecting public to pay over £10 for a ticket.
Runs until 27th August
Edinburgh Fringe: Wild West End – Pleasance Dome,
Tags: Adam Paulden, Andrew Doyle, Ed Clarke, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe, James McAndrew, Katrina Holloway, Laura Kaye Thomson, Lawrence Hayes, Matt Leventhall, The Pleasance, Wild West End
11:16 am on August 23rd, 2012
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with this. Wild West End was one of the highlights of the Fringe for me, and my friends and I were laughing so much we were actually in tears. I thought the strength of the production lay in the fact that all of the cast were very strong and talented, and the performance as a whole has still stuck with me, which, considering how many shows I crammed in during the week I was there, is no small feat. Personally I would have given is a very solid 4 or 5 stars.