Edinburgh Fringe
Underbelly, Bistro Square - Cowbarn
Playing August 14-25
⭐⭐⭐
Hot off the heels of ‘The Great British Bake Off Musical’ comes a new musical romp inspired by a beloved UK cooking show: Come Dine With Me: The Musical.
Unlike the fuzzy feels of Bake Off, Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me is more known for its colourful characters who compete to beat their rivals and host the best dinner party. Spawning countless iconic memes, it’s a show that feels like perfect fodder for a comedy musical.
And while Come Dine With Me: The Musical shows tasty potential, its current iteration left me feeling unsatisfied. The main issue for me was that its 60-minute runtime just isn’t long enough to fully explore all of the ideas, subplots, and characters the show introduces.
Rather than the Come Dine With Me contestants themselves, the plot mainly centres around the production crew, made up of ‘scary’ producer Mary (Daniele Coombe), camera operator Roy (Tom Bowen), and insecure sound man Teddy (Harry Chandler). This adds a compelling framework to the narrative, with the trio working tirelessly around the clock to make the upcoming 1000th episode a ratings smash.
Teddy is also dealing with his own challenges: namely, a lack of confidence and a crush on Janey (Sophie Hutchinson), one of his former schoolmates who happens to be a contestant in the new episode. Chandler is an absolute scene-stealer every time he steps on stage, delivering each song with a highly engaging mix of hapless charm and phenomenal vocals.
His personal growth and budding romance end up being the emotional core of the story, but there’s not enough time to explore this and make his arc really resonate with the audience while we’re also watching the action between the four contestants on the show.
These contestants — Barbara (Kim Ismay), Ernest (Leo Udvarlaky), Duncan (Paul Hazel), and Laney — take it in turns to throw a dinner party and show off their unique hosting styles in the hopes of scooping the prize at the end of the week.
While Barbara’s pretentious Francophilia lends itself to a standout solo number, vegan contestant Ernest feels like an amalgamation of overused tropes which make his solo song fall a bit flat in comparison. Meanwhile, self-professed ‘king’ of pork pies Duncan gets his chance to shine in a fun song about his commitment to being a carnivore.
There are lots of enjoyable and promising ideas within both the central plot of the production team and the secondary plot of the contestants, but it feels like Come Dine With Me: The Musical is just trying to do too much at once. Himbo-esque cameraman Roy, for example, has some great lines delivered with compelling confidence by Bowen, but he’s a character that feels greatly underutilised.
The production value of this show is clearly very high, and everything is incredibly slick, from the moving set pieces to the choreography. Meanwhile, the music doesn’t stray too far from classic musical theatre fare, but the wit and warmth of Sam Norman’s lyrics makes them all thoroughly enjoyable.
The quintessentially British Come Dine With Me: The Musical shows exciting promise, but as it currently stands, some ideas are unfortunately left underbaked.
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