“Sickly sweet, surface level and rather boring”
This is part of a series of shorter reviews from Edinburgh Fringe, August 2026.
New musical “Bliss”, from the producers of Cabaret and Benjamin Button, aims to rewrite fairy tales with a feminist edge. We are introduced to four princesses – Piper (Akshara Gunda), Carmella (Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby), Faye (Miriam Nyarko) and Holly (Matilda Shapland) – who are held captive in a tower by their father (Cameron Johnson). Each of the princesses have their own interests (Piper is obsessed with maths, Holly with animals, etc.) but are not allowed to pursue these avenues, and instead expected to wed a Prince and have a boring happily ever after.
Obviously, this doesn’t sit right with the princesses who team up to fight back against the Fairy Godfather Glimmermore (Tom Bennett) who is trying to force the girls to adhere to their stereotypes. The story is all very predictable, and doesn’t feel particularly unique – pantomimes over the last few years in particular have started moving away from the “traditional” fairy stories, turning their female protagonists into badass warriors instead of damsels in distress. The show is clearly built for a Disney audience, but even in Disney films the characters can be complicated and have more depth – here, everything is sickly sweet, surface level and rather boring.
The costumes and the set feel reminiscent of a pantomime, but if so, this is a pantomime without any humour – the show tries too hard to be sincere, which might work better if we bought more into the characters, but it is difficult to care. The princesses’ personalities are simply defined by their interests and little else. The message that the show carries is obviously an important one, but also one that has been delivered by plenty of other shows in much more subtle and interesting ways (such as Six, & Juliet, Fantastically Great Women).
The fact that this is simply a repeat of shows we have seen before might not be so much of a problem if the music felt fun and fresh. The songs are heavily pop-influenced, which is not a bad thing, but it does mean that the show just seems to be a copy-and-paste of many other new musicals from the last ten years. The lyrics are uninspired, and the entire production seems like it is just going through the necessary motions – as though writers Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie have googled how to write a musical and are simply following step-by-step instructions. The one saving grace is that this is all excellently performed by musical stars at the top of their games, but performers are only as good as their script, and as such, this is a musical that might delight younger audience members with sparkly costumes and quirky choreography, but struggles in every other aspect.
Tom Morley, August 2026
“Bliss” plays at 1pm at Grand, Pleasance Courtyard until 31st August.
Review Round-up:
WhatsOnStage: “Bliss” – 3* from WoS, who say the show has an “energetic pop-rock score packed with potential earworms” but that “it all feels slightly rushed in its second half”
Theatre Weekly: “Bliss” – 4* from Theatre Weekly, saying “the score is memorable, the performances are committed, and its message of self-discovery lands with genuine emotional force“
The Stage: “Bliss” – Continuing the tradition of my reviews always saying the exact opposite of The Stage, this 5* review calls the show a “dazzling new musical […] bristling with memorable songs and polished performances”
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