半岛体育

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world, with over 3,700 shows. This year, 半岛体育 is in town for the festival and we鈥檙e taking you with us. Follow along as we cover every single aspect of the Fringe, aka our real-life Brigadoon! 

As part of our Edinburgh Fringe coverage, 半岛体育 is seeing a whole lotta shows鈥攁nd we鈥檙e letting you know what we think of them. Consider these reviews a friendly, opinionated guide as you try to choose a show at the festival.

Frances Ruffelle (the Tony-winning original 脡ponine in Les Mis茅rables in London鈥檚 West End and on Broadway) and husband, fellow U.K. stage mainstay Norman Bowman, are in love. Very in love. As cheesy as that might sound, seeing them perform together in their new cabaret act The Scot and the Showgirl at Edinburgh Festival Fringe is to see some very real, very palpable chemistry. It might all make you roll your eyes if they weren鈥檛 so nuts鈥攗nabashedly so.

You might have to be a little nuts to be as vulnerable as Ruffelle and Bowman are in this new act, but luckily for audiences, it pays off. Their goofy, no-holds-barred sensibility is incredibly charming, and ultimately gives The Scot and the Showgirl a distinct air of genuine authenticity. It鈥檚 hard not to buy into their giddy affection, mostly because it鈥檚 just so real.

The pair has designed this new cabaret act to take audiences 鈥渇rom Brigadoon to Broadway, from Scotland to Sondheim.鈥� Bowman, if you can鈥檛 tell from the title, is Scottish, and performs the entire show in a kilt. The titular showgirl is, of course, Ruffelle. But the duo have had extensive careers in the musical theatre. That means we get a song list with traditional Scottish tunes like 鈥淒onald, Where鈥檚 Your Troosers鈥� (changed to 鈥淏eausy鈥� here, a nickname for Bowman) and 鈥淧encil Full of Lead鈥� along with showtune favorites like 鈥淚t鈥檚 Almost Like Being in Love鈥� from Brigadoon (I suppose that could almost count in both categories) and 鈥淥ne of a Kind鈥� from Applause. The arrangements are all fantastic too, as led by music director and arranger Ryan McKenzie on piano (additional arrangements are by David Barber) along with cellist Kate Shortt and drummer Nick Anderson.

A particular favorite was the couple鈥檚 mash-up of 鈥淭he Little Things You Do Together鈥� from Company and 鈥淐ountry House,鈥� a song written for the first London production of Follies. The match is so perfect that one wonders why it isn鈥檛 one seen more often.

Those songs take us through the couple鈥檚 love story, from a meet cute at a London tube station, to a separation brought on by Ruffelle鈥檚 late nights out with male friends (no details are offered on what those entailed), to a cheery and earned second go鈥� which they are ostensibly still continuing. I鈥檓 not exactly sure what all is fact or fiction here. Previous marriages, both involving children, go unmentioned, and from what I can tell, their relationship is not exactly a decades-long affair yet. Did all of this play out in record time, or have they dramatized their romantic lives, recast to be exclusively about their current partners?

Either way, it鈥檚 admirable how honest they are about themselves. Beyond their visible chemistry, this element makes you truly believe their love runs deep, that each loves the other for who they are at their inner most core. That鈥檚 something we should all strive for, and it鈥檚 really charming, inspirational even, to see it play out in front of you. Credit here also goes to director Paul Baker. The narrative is surprisingly clear and strong for a cabaret act, and the expert pacing keeps you with the show through to the end.

Ultimately, The Scot and the Showgirl contains two very talented performers at the top of their game singing an excellent setlist. Bowman shines with some goofy comedy moments, particularly a rousing rendition of The Proclaimers鈥� 鈥淚鈥檓 Gonna Be (500 Miles.鈥� He also delivers a heartfelt, gender-swapped take on 鈥淗appy to Keep Her Dinner Warm鈥� from How to Succeed. Ruffelle proves her musical theatre legend status with her thrilling rock belt, one of those singular voices that really just doesn鈥檛 sound quite like anyone else on earth. Don鈥檛 worry, they haven鈥檛 shoehorned her trademark 鈥淥n My Own鈥� into the separation part of the narrative鈥攂ut Ruffelle still gives it to us in the show鈥檚 encore, handily proving why the performance was Tony-winning.

I came out of this performance thoroughly entertained, and having learned that Ruffelle and Bowman would probably be a big bundle of energy to be seated next to at a dinner party鈥攂ut that鈥檚 not pejorative. I鈥檇 be happy to have the seat.

The Scot and the Showgirl is playing Pleasance鈥檚 Queen Dome through August 26 (though full disclosure, the show also played on the 半岛体育 FringeShip). Tickets are available . See photos from the show below.

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Photos: Frances Ruffelle and Norman Bowman in The Scot and The Showgirl on The 半岛体育 FringeShip

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