EdFringe Review: BLISS

BLISS has been one of the most heavily pushed openings at this year’s Fringe. Depending on who you ask or which poster you read, it’s the biggest opening this August. Well, no one can doubt the epic cash injection from producers Susan Edelstein, ATG, and Gavin Kalin, which has brought this to the Pleasance Grand in 2026. An expansive, talented cast, a live band (more on that later), and Jason Ardizzone-West’s sparkly set design speak to some serious investment.

But why?

Who advocated for the script and score from creators Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie and thought, “Yes, this narratively thin Christmas musical with one memorable song is the one!”? The mind boggles.

The plot keeps things simple: four diminutive princesses (played by Miriam Nyarko, Matilda Shapland, Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby, and Akshara Gunda) kept in a tower by their kind, pro-education but anti-liberty dad (Cameron Johnson) escape captivity. The world outside contains a shallow, sparkly boy-band refugee Prince (Jordan Calloway), his court of temporarily snotty jesters (why not?), and a Fairy Godfather, Glimmermore, who promises a ‘happily ever after’, if only they’ll take a dip in his pink lagoon. He’s the villain, if you hadn’t guessed, offering an all-in-one magical glow-up and dumb-down. That’s what princes want, right?

Thank goodness for Glimmermore, played by Tom Bennett, the only character in the whole show with any charisma or the opportunity to exploit it. He gets the lion’s share of the best, most amusing lines and delivers them with relish. His anthem “Poof” is also an excellent showtune — you can tell how much the all-singing-dancing ensemble enjoys getting their teeth into it.

“Who advocated for the script and score from creators Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie and thought, “Yes, this narratively thin Christmas musical with one memorable song is the one!”? The mind boggles.“

What of the rest of the score, you ask? A collection of pretty standard ‘I am’, ‘I want’, and thematically suitable numbers delivered with far more professional talent than they deserve. This is a show packed with sensational vocal talents, the four princesses not least amongst them, making average compositions sound better than they are.

BLISS Review: Style Over Substance at Fringe 2026

But good lord, is he a lone bright spark in a sea of forgettable ‘reworked’ fairy tales. Our four heroines check the boxes: smart one, fighting one, odd one, and ‘fat but sassy’ one (played by a performer in shape). Don’t expect nuance; you aren’t getting it. In this world, there are two choices: you can glow up and self-lobotomise, or be yourself. The show’s central crisis inevitably arrives then, when the smart one opts for brain damage and makeup to reinvent themselves as Princess BLISS.

**Bliss – Tom Bennett – LONDON PROD_BRENNER**

The prince sees her, goes “woof”, and we’re on for a wedding…but of course that won’t happen. The women in this fairy-tale world will throw off the yoke of societal expectations and be themselves; the Fairy Godfather will be banished. Hurrah. Predictable is an insufficient word.

Take out the occasional, but strictly PG, expressions of lust, and this is strictly kids’ TV material. Every year, pantos around the country will inject more sophistication into shows riddled with dames, boos and hisses. In BLISS, characters aren’t allowed depth; they are defined by one (or two if lucky) traits. The few that are allowed a little growth are subject to moments of enlightenment laid on so heavily that they deserve light bulbs overhead.

Were director Sheryl Kaller and choreographer Josh Prince so busy having the ensemble drilled to exuberant perfection, finding a cast with great voices, and making everything look good, that they forgot that story is the fundamental basis of theatre? Yet, I can’t believe they were so wrapped up in ticking the technical boxes because Tony Gayle’s sound mix is so muddy and thick that, when the show reveals the live band hidden backstage, I was amazed. What wizardry were this game band of musicians subject to so that their output sounds like a synthed-up backing track?

If you won’t ask more of the narrative, and, to be fair, there are successful musicals whose plots wouldn’t fill more than a sheet of A4 — then at least look after the music.

Anyway, I’ve had enough of talking about how spectacularly underwhelming I find BLISS. To be clear, the stage is rammed with talent doing their absolute best. If only the resources that brought this to town had been put into something else.