Brighton Fringe Review: BOY BAND, Presuming Ed's

“Don’t tell us about it, sing us about it”

Boy Band takes audiences into a meeting of the titular group, defined in the show’s description as “a top secret club where boys of any age, gender, and orientation meet in top secret to work on choreo and sing songs of unrequited longing, a celebration of all things squishy.” We are introduced to Michael, Ferg and Hugh, who introduce themselves with a song about Boy Band, saying “You can be in Boy Band too!” Michael, Ferg and Hugh are going to guide us through the rules of the club, because, as they declare, “We’re only teenagers but we have the wisdom of the ancients.”

Throughout the show, there are plenty of references to boy bands, with clips from boy bands songs being used as puns for jokes or as recurring bits. But there are also original songs from this group, including ones with lyrics like “23andme ruined you and me” about an unintentionally incestuous relationship,  “Want you inside me / You know I mean medically,” referring to one of the members’s need for organs to remain alive, and the “too hot for radio” “Double dip my chip in your nacho cheese waterfall.” Another song has one of the members singing about going on a diet but ends with him stuffing a whole thing of Jaffa Cakes into his mouth. The songs are accompanied by acoustic guitar, beat boxing and/or previously recorded sounds. 

One of my favourite bits in the show is one in which in which all of the audience members are handed rocks and The Police’s song “Roxanne” begins, only in this version, the only lyric is “rock,” leading to nearly three minutes of instrumentals with a few interspersed seconds of everyone holding up their rocks and singing along to “Rock!” This particular section nearly had me in tears and I’m impressed by how the group is able to take something as simple and stupid as an edited song with rocks and turn it into a moment in which the audience bonded, getting incredibly enthusiastic about taking part. 

There isn’t much of a plot to the show, but it truly isn’t needed with the number of jokes and songs that keep it going. The bits are well-timed and each member of the band brings their own touch to the show through songs, bits and some truly terrible puns. Though, it does have a surprising moment that is a bit sad for the general energy of the show, but it still ends with a hilarious song and a sweet ending. 

Ultimately, Boy Band is a hilarious, harmonious and surprisingly heartfelt comedy that brings the audience together as their own boy band in delightful ways. It thrives in the fact that it never takes itself seriously, instead allowing the performers to laugh along with the audience and have a great time.

Boy Band ran on 12 and 26 May and 2 June at Presuming Ed’s at Brighton Fringe

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