Sugar and Blood at Edinburgh Fringe ★★½
★★½ Sugar and Blood | ZOO Playground
A promising concept is let down by some clunky scripting – but there’s no denying the commitment of the four young performers.
Fringe theatre can sometimes fall into the trap of being too earnest to entertain, so it’s rewarding to find a show that sets out to deliver a tight thriller in less than an hour. Even better, this is a 45 minute whodunnit with a cast of suspects introduced right from the off, and an instantly clear through line for the audience to latch on to. Promising stuff.
Four women anxiously await the aftershock from the murder of their boss – they all conspired to kill her, but were all of their hearts really in it? And if not, who – in firing the fatal shot – is the real killer?
It’s a pity, then, that this engaging idea – and some enthusiastic performances from a young cast – is let down by an at times illogical script which doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. By the end you’re left wondering what happened to the other half of the show.
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like: nice pubs, film marathons, not doing real marathons, bad comedy, plays/musicals with shorter second halves, and the Oxford comma.
