The extremely admirable Miss Harriet Braine again regales us with a historical and hysterical romp of the funny kind in her third Edinburgh run since winning the Funny Women Stage Award in 2016.
This show includes some personal historical reflection and we get to know a little bit more about how the real Harriet has ended up treading the boards of show business alongside her other passion for curation. Indeed, she still manages to curate the comedy through her passion for art and history with the focus this year on rebellious and pioneering female inventors, healers and technology pioneers. This may appear as a mismatched grouping but it all makes sense in the end!
The glue throughout the show is Harriet’s charming and hapless persona along with her considerable musical talent. The personal stuff is a welcome introduction and with the aid of slides and anecdotes about school and university productions, Harriet gives context to how she has come to successfully combine her love of comedy and history.
This is musical comedy at its best and there is plenty of light and dark in a mix of parodic and original songs that sit at the centre of Harriet’s performance. Grappling with the dark humidity of a typical Fringe venue, with the added ‘bonus’ of sound bleed from next door, she maintains attention leaving you feeling better informed with a few historical facts and thoroughly entertained.
★★★★
Harriet Braine: Les Admirables is at Gilded Balloon, Old Tolbooth Market at 18:00 until 25th August. For tickets and more information click here!
