The weird and wonderful musical theatre shows at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

• Alice White
• 30 July 2014

This article is from 2014.

Featuring UCAS, Bonded by Blood, Jack and I, Nando's and Nandon'ts and Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist

We’re used to how ridiculous the Fringe can get. We’ve all accidentally ended up in a show with eighteen naked Australians throwing paint on a woman wearing a nappy. Still, serial killers, and chicken restaurants, getting the musical theatre treatment? We round up some 2014 shows that made us do a double take.

Try UCAS (Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 1–23 Aug) for starters. A chance to relive your least favourite conversation and sing along to ballads about deciding whether someone should go to uni or not?

Or Bonded By Blood (Spotlites @ the Merchants Hall, 2–16 Aug), a musical about the killings of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Cashing in on a nation’s morbid fascination, or an important new fresh look at the cases? You may love to boast ‘I’m not offended by anything!’ like a cool grown up, but keep remembering that some people’s children died as you ponder Myra’s costume. Elsewhere, there is an opera on Jack the Ripper, Jack and I (C Nova, 30 Jul--25 Aug), but at least all the victims’ families aren’t around to know it’ll be flyered on the Royal Mile next to a man balancing with his head in a bucket.

There are obviously thousands of excellent piercing, jabbing, painful needle jokes that could be made with our next find. For example, we could say she probably has a voice like someone swinging a bag of cat-shaped partially unproven medical practices. Find out for yourself at Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist: Big O Finds Her Soul (Just the Tonic @ the Mash House, 1–25 Aug).

Severe choking-on-purpose-on-your-tongue hazard now with Nando's and Nandon'ts: A Musical (Phones 4U, 1-10 Aug), in case you thought that the only thing in the Fringe catering to lower-league footballers and stoners was that guy from Police Academy who can make the noises with his mouth.