It’s 6:30pm and it’s time to switch over for your daily round up of the latest news bulletins… however, if it’s Hugh Edwards you’re expecting then I’m afraid you’ll have to tune in some other time. Back for their 35th year with a new roster of comical talents, NewsRevue once again present a satirical hour of scandalous headlines, toe tapping show tunes and laugh out loud impersonations to rival any mainstream news programme.
Taking a comical look back at the weird and wonderful world of politics, celebrity and the media, the record breaking NewsRevue mischievously comments on the ludicrous and unforgiving nature of the media, in particular, how the likes of the former News of the World Editor Rebecca Brooks remains untarnished from the controversial case of the phone hacking scandal that inevitably witnessed the corporations closure in 2011. With the likes of highbrow middle-class comedy panel shows such as Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week and 8 out of 10 Cats dominating mainstream programming, the young NewsRevue cast reinvigorate the otherwise predictable political comedy genre as the all singing, all dancing ensemble amuse with their all singing, all dancing take on the year’s most memorable headlines.
Renditions of chart toppers such as Pharrell Williams‘ ‘Happy’, Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Where is the Love’ and Take That‘s ‘Back for Good‘ all receive satirical makeovers, cleverly commenting on issues such as the ever increasing popularity of the Selfie and the strange case of the missing Malaysian flight. The ever popular Nick Clegg becomes the running joke through out the production, with both Mika‘s ‘Grace Kelly’ sharply commenting on the coalition and Frozen‘s ‘Can I build a Snowman’ amusingly depicting Clegg as a lost and lonely individual aspiring for approval from the current Prime Minister. Mimi Edwards, Will Mulvey, Matt Lee-Steer and Alice Marshall deliver effortless performances that make the hour long show move along in a heartbeat. The show offers comical variety, from musical numbers to short sketches, catering to the audiences’s humour. As always with comedy, they’ll be hit and miss moments, which NewsRevue is no stranger to, however, the show is fun, energetic and it’s use of popular culture references helps make the world of news and politics more accessible and entertaining to a younger generation. 4/5
Review written by Lucy Basaba.
NewsRevue is currently showing at the Pleasance Courtyard until Monday 25th August as part of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For more information on the production, visit here…
Leave a Comment