Barbershopera: Apocalypse No

A harmony of laughter drowns the room from start to finish in Barberashopera's latest musical comedy Apocalypse? No! The witty, fast-paced and fun show consists of a four-part Barbershop group...and the occasional voice of God!

The plot features four archangels told to review the world to God, in which they decide only an Apocalypse would solve the problems and conflict with mankind (deep, I know!). Thankfully, a primary school teacher stumbles upon the horsemen of the apocalypse and persuades them to try things differently. Through song, jokes and the odd appearance of a skinny Barry White, we learn whether life on earth will be over. Knowing that this was a late-night showing of the musical I did go in thinking, Oh dear; if this is intellectual I may need to nod off to sleep. Thankfully there was no space for tiredness as the whole piece buzzed with excitement from the starting note. It was also easy to understand with giggles throughout, keeping the audience engaged and enthralled.

The use of puppets at the beginning of the play did distract me at first, but they quickly blended into the storyline and caused a few laughs to stir. If anything needed improvement, I'd say it was incredibly predictable, though I guess this gave room for more jokes and helped a late-night audience be entertained.

A musical must-see, but be prepared for excessive melodies and non-stop silliness!!

Barbershopera: Apocalypse No

Pleasance Courtyard

22:55, 5-29 Aug