Advertising itself as the”biggest musical of the Edinburgh Fringe” Bliss is an ambitious show that doesn’t find a consistent tone or strong themes.
Bliss tells the story of four princesses as they escape the tower that their father locked them in to see a once in a lifetime comet. When they run into Prince Devin and meet a Fairy Godfather the four personalities clash.
Jason Ardizzone-West’s set design is one of the more established ones you’ll see at the Fringe. Covering the back wall is a pattern of lights wall and large boxes and staircases move to transform the space.
Jai Morjaria’s lighting design is key to the production’s stunning visual identity. A stand out visual is the ensemble’s use of LED strips in the dark to highlight and shadow the princesses in their escape.
The lighting bounces off Prince Devin’s costume, designed by Paloma Young, as he performs his show stopping number, ‘Through the Night’. The rest of the costumes work well to distinguish the personalities of the princesses and the eccentricities of the Fairy Godfather.
Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie’s book and score is great. The music is catchy, contemporary and sung in wonderful musical theatre voices. The aforementioned ‘Through the Night’ and opening song ‘Inside These Castle Walls’ are highlights of the score.
The show is filled with comedic moments but fails in its 80 minute runtime to develop any of the heartfelt themes that are teased throughout. The moment where the King talks of his dead wife could be rather emotional but is instead played for laughs.
A lot of humour is found in criticising other princesses in fairy tales this story doesn’t do a lot to separate itself from the stereotypes as it descends into panto. The performance that Tom Bennet delivers as Fairy Godfather Glimmermore is camp, over the top and engaging as he monologues with the audience, breaking the fourth wall. He is a perfect panto villain.
A similar performance comes from Cameron Johnson’s King who is a large personality, finding joy in calculus to the point that it is difficult to take him seriously when he is controlling the princesses.
Prince Devin, played by Jordan Calloway, is charming, sexy and arrogant. But even in the little stage time the audience falls in love with him. He leads the ensemble in his numbers who act as jesters, perfect princesses, and unicorns throughout the show. In a dance heavy show they do a wonderful job as they also move the scenery frequently. Their inclusion in the earliest scenes detracts from the princesses isolation in the tower.
Standing out most amongst the four princesses, Piper (Akshura Gunda) is given the biggest journey. The performance is certainly leading with a believable transformation into Bliss. The other sisters, Carmella (Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby), Faye (Miriam Nyarko) and Holly (Matilda Shapland), fit as a pack much more with personalities that distinguish them enough to justify including them in the story. The conflict between the sisters is recapped from an offstage encounter with the resolving of the conflict also threadbare.
Overall, the show is of ambitious scale with funny and engaging characterwork but the best part is the incredible score.
Where to Watch Bliss
Bliss is performing at the Pleasance Courtyard from 5-31 August (except 12, 18, 25) at 13.00 with tickets available to book here.
Check out all of Brig’s coverage of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe here.
Featured Image Credit: Marc Brenner
Journalism and Film and Media student who loves writing about TV. @darcyrobson07
