This is part of a series of shorter reviews from Edinburgh Fringe, August 2024.
There have been lots of odd inspirations for musicals recently. But this one perhaps takes the biscuit. Based on the Channel 4 daytime reality show, “Come Dine With Me: The Musical” tells the story of the filming of the 1000th episode, with the storyline focusing mainly on the production crew, and the pressure often faced by those in the TV industry.
Producer Mary (Daniele Coombe) is focused on creating TV gold, no matter what it takes. Camera man Roy (Tom Bowen) and sound engineer Teddy (Harry Chandler) initially begin as Mary’s incompetent henchmen, before Teddy steps up to take on the lead role, as a failed music artist working all hours as a sound engineer in order to make a living.
Each of the contestants take it in turns to host a dinner party, with each separate night represented by a different song. Barbara (Kim Ismay) presents a French-inspired menu, with plenty of French-related puns, that included throwing snails into the audience. Ernest (Leo Udvarlaky) is a vegan, and won’t let anyone forget it – this was the weakest song of the show, but still offered some laughs. Duncan (Paul Hazel) refers to himself as the Pork Pie Man, and sings about his love of meat – this was one of my favourite moments of the play, with a catchy tune and funny lyrics. Finally Janey (Sophie Hutchinson) acts as a love interest for Teddy, in a romantic storyline that feels a little forced and receives a rushed conclusion. Janey’s song about her Nan that has recently passed away provided one of the more heart-felt moments of the musical, and it was a shame that this wasn’t developed further.
Drama is thrown into the mix as the contestants find their nights sabotaged, and it is up to Teddy to determine the culprit. The solution (which I won’t spoil here) is satisfactory, and there are a few surprise twists at the end, although the character arcs don’t receive satisfactory endings. For example, Roy is angry that everyone treats him as thick, but the ending of the play shows that he is, and Teddy is fed up of being a sound engineer, but at the end of the play, he is still a sound engineer.
Overall, this is an enjoyable production, and I can understand why rumours of a West End transfer are circulating. The songs are catchy, and the singing is excellent, which makes up for the slightly lacklustre storyline. For fans of the show, there are sneaky references to enjoy (including taxi rides round the block and a contestant that can fit an entire egg beater in his mouth). But a knowledge of the show is not a requirement, and the likeable characters make for a very entertaining hour of musical theatre.
Come Dine With Me: The Musical plays at 2:20pm at Underbelly Bristo Square until 25th August.
Tom Morley, August 2024
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