EDINBURGH 2015 - BWW Reviews: UKIP! THE MUSICAL, Space, August 12 2015

UKIP! The Musical begins with Nigel Farage having nightmares about Britain being part of Europe. With guidance from his wife, he becomes determined to break away from the Conservative party and set up his own political party.

I've found that some shows at the Edinburgh Fringe rely on their catchy title to hook an audience and the content doesn't quite live up to expectation. Thankfully, UKIP! The Musical is not one of these shows!

The music draws on inspiration from West End musicals - Bongo Bongo Land is a song which sounds suspiciously like something from Book of Mormon, and there is a Spamalot-style sing-a-long later on in the show. The whole thing is incredibly slick and polished and the performances are fantastic.

I mentioned to a few people that I was going to see this show and was met with some pretty horrified looks. I assured them that the musical was satire...or at least I hoped it was! The musical is firmly tongue in cheek and very well written. When Farage sets up UKIP their slogan is "consolidate your ignorance into one political party". He also defends the idea that he is racist before launching into the song "Some Of My Best Friends Are Ethnic". Another highlight was the UKIP anthem "Let's Pull Up The Drawbridge".

The only downside to UKIP! The Musical is that you will leave this show humming racist songs to yourself.

Ticket information for UKIP! The Musical can be found on the edfringe website.