REVIEW – COMING OUT OF MY CAGE (AND I’VE BEEN DOING JUST FINE) – EDINBURGH FRINGE

There is nothing that gets Brits more excited than ‘Mr Brightside’, everyone knows the lyrics and has shouted them at the top of their lungs at some point in the past – so Shepard Tone Theatre have gone and written a whole show about it! 

Upon entry, Outcast ‘Hey Ya’ was playing, with the Sound and Lighting techs dancing away – you could tell we were in for a good time. The stage had a projector screen at the back which had words projected upon it which told the audience what to expect (all lyrics from the song), one example – ‘if destiny calls, answer it’.

The show is sectioned into chapters, with puns and anecdotes galore throughout. Hannah is dressed as Brandon Flowers from the music video, and Tim is dressed as actor Eric Roberts who appears in the video. 

Firstly, Tim and Hannah introduce us to Mr Darkside, and have rewritten the lyrics for this new subject. This is hilarious, and the audience are all encouraged to sing-along. There is a lot of audience participation within the show, which works extremely well and has the audience excited and engaged throughout.

They then explain to the audience that they have watched every single ‘Mr Brightside’ cover on Youtube. During their search they found a woman that had recorded multiple videos of her singing the song, at the same pub. They then took us on a journey to track her down, which was hilarious. It’s like ‘Don’t F*ck With Cats’, but with The Killers, and if I ever go missing, I hope Hannah and Tim are on the case!

This show is so much fun, it was the perfect show to end the day with. Coming Out Of My Cage (And I’ve Been Doing Just Fine), is light-hearted, hilarious and feel-good. The audience participation kept everyone engaged and heightened enjoyment of the show. There were a couple of pauses during the ends and beginnings of ‘chapters’ which felt slightly too long, but really I’m just nit-picking here. Hannah and Tim work incredibly well together, it feels natural, and they encourage the audience to get to know each other which was a lovely touch. 

Destiny is calling you to go and watch Hannah and Tim track down ‘Brampton Flowers’, play a variety of instruments, lip sync to Brandon Flowers speaking, sing and dance. It’s so much fun, you don’t want to miss it!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

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