BLUE BLOOD - REVIEW - BRIGHTON FRINGE

Richly intoxicating and darkly amusing; Blue Blood is a classic ‘eat the rich’ theatrical delight.

Brought to Brighton Fringe ahead of its run in London, Blue Devil Productions presents the delightfully morbid story of a sociopathic killer; hellbent on earning the fortune and dukedom of his estranged family.

Starring the wonderful performance of Maximus Polling as Gabriel Jones and a book written by Ross Dinwiddy, this new production is based on the classic novel – Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman.

This production is remarkably clever. With a heavy focus on wardrobe and despite a very minimal set design, I felt completely immersed in this story. Combined with Jones’ direct dialogue to the audience, the show presented almost like a confessional, and the audience hung on every eloquent word.

The entire cast was incredible – giving truthful performances to a host of insufferable characters, however it is essential to point out the fantastic leadership of Polling, who is onstage for the entire piece. He was calculated and charming, somehow making me want to root for such a twisted character. His performance was practically faultless.

The direction of the show was expeditious and engaging – presented in a Brechtian style, with a couple of characters playing multiple roles and Gabriel Jones narrating and jumping in and out of scenes, the show had fantastic pacing (despite running quite a bit longer than the listed run time).

This show is well thought out and beautifully written. The performance was near perfection; bar a few lighting cue mishaps, however, given this was their opening night, I can overlook this as a very minor teething problem which didn’t take away from the production’s tension and drama.

Without a doubt, this is one of the strongest shows I have seen in a long while, and a true standout for the Brighton Fringe this year. I’m very excited about the future of this production and will look forward to announcing with pride that I was able to catch it so early in its establishment.

Blue Blood is on at Brighton Fringe until the 17th of May – find more info here.

Find all our Brighton Fringe reviews here!

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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