EdFringe Review: The Singer

If the title didn’t give it away, Jenny Booth’s stage design certainly would. Configured like a live gig for Cora Bissett’s production, the Traverse stage is dominated by towering stacks of speakers around a central, circular podium, leaving zero doubt about the music-centric drama ahead. Presented by Dundee Rep Theatre and Solar Bear, in collaboration with Aberdeen Performing Arts, The Singer expands on an earlier short film co-written by Bissett and lead actor Jamie Rea.

The result is an irresistibly upbeat piece of gig-theatre built following the fates of an unlikely creative pairing: Andy, a burned-out young indie popstar, and Joe, a talented, Deaf singer-songwriter.

Music will be written, dreams will be born. Will redemption follow the eventual fallout, and can Joe find mainstream success without a ‘hearie’ to share the stage with? The Singer is quite the high-stakes ride.

Dynamic Lead Chemistry and Mythical Storytelling

Fresh from a run leading Hadestown in the West End, Dylan Wood is as superb as you’d expect playing Andy. Opposite him, Jamie Rea reprises his role as Joe, proving a magnetic performer with a sharp sense of comic timing and abundant joy. Bissett’s writing and direction keep the early momentum sharp and the dramatic balance sure-footed across comedy, music, and emotional friction. The leads’ chemistry is immediate, and their meet-cute stands out as an early highlight—packed with flowing banter, joyful sign-based leg pulling, and culminating in a jamming session that quickly establishes them as a musical pairing you desperately hope will make it.

It’s a story with a fable-like framing, with actor-muso Hannah Jarrett-Scott and multi-talented Deaf performer Petre Dobre, ‘The Oracles’, functioning as a beautifully choreographed Greek chorus, introducing Joe as a quasi-mythical hero with a grand destiny if only he can grasp it. Spending much of the show upstage on a raised sofa, they narrate from on high with immense bonhomie. She’s all Scots banter, decked out extravagantly and pitched somewhere between Su Pollard and Fran Lebowitz; he’s got the clothes and patter of a trustworthy used-car salesman.

Where required, they step into the play, sometimes Andy’s no-nonsense grandparents, at other times wee Scottish ratbags, despicable recording company execs, and even respectable members of the Deaf community. The Singer has a cast of four, but a pretty extravagant character list.

Pragmatism, Pop Hooks, and Industry Dinosaurs

As a piece of musical theatre, The Singer also hits the spot. KT Tunstall’s score is cracking; really first rate. Driven by pulsing beats ascribed to Joe’s rhythmically empowered pen, the music delivers genuinely catchy numbers, not least ‘Wild Card’, which, to me, feels like a genuine chart possibility. A compact interlude where the audience plays Joe’s Deaf—hearies-included—choir is also a lot of fun.

On the whole, there’s just the ‘right amount’ of music throughout, mostly incorporated as performances by our heroes, but occasionally breaking out into some narrative service. There’s no filler, on the whole, just thrillers.

Minor Narrative Hiccups and Life Beyond the Fringe

The show isn’t entirely without plot hiccups, however. Certain twists feel a little forced, and a late campaign to save a local Deaf centre is promptly dropped. Then there’s Joe’s lovely flat – how does he afford it? These are wee notes, to be sure, but they would all be relatively easy to fix, particularly if the show is ever greenlit for a modest expansion.

For now, these minor issues don’t stop this genuinely fun and boundary-pushing show from flying by. There are no sure things when it comes to new musicals, but with a national tour to follow this Fringe debut, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one enjoys life well beyond.

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