The world premiere of a new British musical, Berlin Girl debuts at The Edinburgh Fringe and The Space at Surgeons Hall venue. Presented by actors and creatives who are currently studying at UK drama schools this new musical shows signs of potential but requires a major overhaul to have a chance of succeeding in the future.
The show begins around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with Miriam crossing from West back to her native East to find out the truth about what happened to her childhood sweetheart, Xander. The main thrust of the show is then the back story to their relationship and how Miriam defied the Stasi and managed to defect to the West in the first place.
The narrative is very difficult to follow, even for someone with a good knowledge of the dynamic between East and West Germany and the politics of the wall, and some of the dialogue is far-fetched and unbelievable. It tries to mix terror with comedy and it just doesn’t work, it leaves the audience completely oblivious to what’s happening and how they should be reacting, while the ending is just downright frustrating.
A live band provides the 80’s synth inspired score. Most of it is nice, while some is a little grating, but there’s not a single song that will stick in your head after the performance. It jumps around from being sung-through to having extended pieces of dialogue and the two formats jar with each other. There’s some very energetic choreography which looks impressive, but doesn’t really fit with the overall theme.
The saving grace for Berlin Girl is it’s two leads, Charlee Bullock as Miriam and Sam Brown as Xander both give marvellous performances and their vocals are outstanding. They work well with the ensemble cast who also work hard to ensure that their performances are compelling.
The strong performances however, are not enough to overcome the burdensome narrative and forgettable score. Berlin Girl feels like an amateur production from the East in a Fringe filled with vibrance from the West.
