Blog & Reviews: Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022

Sex with Friends Blog - Edinburgh Fringe Festival

This summer, with the invaluable support of TORCH, GOYA Theatre Company went to the Edinburgh Fringe. This is not something extraordinary in and of itself. This year’s Fringe festival had almost 3,200 shows performed by 50,000 artists. However, for us (as I’m sure it is for many of these artists) it felt extraordinary. After a difficult few years for both theatre and the arts in general, to be surrounded by people who were dedicated to creating art in all its forms was in turn inspiring, humbling, and deeply moving.

Perhaps a brief summary of GOYA Theatre Company is needed before we go any further. We met as a company at the University of Oxford. While students at the university, we created work in many of Oxford’s spaces, including the Michael Pilch Studio, Oxford Playhouse, and with the generous support of TORCH in 2021, the North Wall Arts Centre. Our work is an amalgamation of many of our interests, however there are some threads which connect it all together. We are a queer theatre company, and our stories reflect our own identities and those of our friends. These stories are always musical, not the great ‘jazz hands’ productions that we usually associate with the word, but they always contain music in some capacity. We’ve spent the last year really honing our work and identity as a company, and our shows at the Edinburgh Fringe were (we hope!) a reflection of this.

Between March and August 2022, we rehearsed three shows. The first was titled Sex With Friends (And Other Tiny Catastrophes). A story of six friends, the musical follows them as they make various mistakes in love and in life, navigate their early 20s, and examine their relationships both with themselves and each other. Described as ‘intensely relatable’ in a 5 star review from Lost in Theatreland, Sex With Friends was performed at the Pleasance in Edinburgh. Our second show was a complete 180 degree turn away from the intimate world of 20-something friendships. Don’t Say Macbeth!, performed at ZOO Venues, was a comedy musical featuring the cast of a feminist retelling of Macbeth (the dreaded word for those of us who are superstitious theatre makers). Described by us as Noises Off meets musical theatre, this farce was described by Broadway Baby as ‘a riotous and chaotic performance that is definitely steeped in reality’. Our third and final show, and the one we’re rehearsing again at the moment, was Don’t Shoot the Albatross. A monologue on queerness, pop music and large seafaring birds, this ‘daring observation about modern society’ (The Student) followed Alby on a walk through London, as unfamiliar streets made old wounds resurface.

If this sounds like a lot, it was. We were both thrilled and exhausted by the time August ended. The Fringe was successful not only in allowing us to reach far wider and more diverse audiences and form wonderful working relationships with one another, but also because we were recognised for our work in every capacity. We were nominated for the Best New Musical Award, and in our last week, the Musical Theatre Review presented us with a ‘Special Award’, recognising the diverse range of work produced by GOYA and its collaborators while also recommending our artistic director Sam as ‘one to watch’.

We have been so immensely grateful for this experience. Going forward, GOYA is presenting Don’t Shoot the Albatross again this winter at the Canal Café Theatre in London, and then re-entering the festival circuit with VAULT Festival in the spring. Tickets to both these shows can be accessed through our website, and the link is provided below. We are once again enormously grateful to TORCH for being instrumental in making these shows happen, and for encouraging new theatrical work in an artistic landscape which can often feel difficult and expensive to navigate. Our hope for the next few years is to continue to make new work which combines our interests and tells new queer stories. From Albatross onwards, we’ve been really exploring the possibility of borrowing from other great works of literature (the title of the play is inspired by a conversation about reframing the central conceit of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner). For now, keep up to date with us and our creations on social media, mailing list and website. There is always more to come!

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Edinburgh Fringe Festival Reviews

5 Star - Lost in Theatre Land (https://lostintheatreland.co.uk/review-sex-with-friends-and-other-tiny-catastrophes-edinburgh-fringe)

“The vocal talents of this cast are phenomenal.”
“Woof’s script and lyrics are hilarious and sum up beautifully what life is like in your 20s.”
“Expect hilarity, relatability, phenomenal vocals and comical lyrics.”

5 Star - Musical Theatre Review (https://musicaltheatrereview.com/sex-with-friends-and-other-tiny-catastrophes-edinburgh-festival-fringe/)

“Mark my words, Sam Woof is going to be a strong voice in musical theatre in years to come.”
“Every laugh is earned, and the humour is of a very high quality”
“A sharp script and witty lyrics.”

4 Star - Broadway Baby (https://broadwaybaby.com/shows/sex-with-friends-and-other-tiny-catastrophes/761483)

“Witty, warm and […] wise entertainment.”

3 Star - The Stage (https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/sex-with-friends-and-other-tiny-catastrophes-review-pleasance-courtyard-edinburgh-sam-woof-goya-theatre)

“The score has a maturity that’s as refreshing as it is complex, packed with beautiful harmonies, tight lyrics and more than a couple of standout ballads.”
“The author is undoubtedly a bright, young talent to watch out for”

Don’t Say Macbeth Reviews

4 Star - Broadway World (https://www.broadwayworld.com/scotland/article/Edinburgh-2022-Review-DONT-SAY-MACBETH-ZOO-Playground-Playground-2-20220817)

“A successful combination of musical parody, Shakespeare references and farce, Don’t Say Macbeth is what the Fringe is all about.”
“The show is full of laugh-out-loud moments.”

4 Star - EdFringe Review (https://www.edfringereview.com/review/e/fFPexczRd7GcXzyViJSG)

“This is a comedy musical that knows how to show you a good time.”
“Sam Woof and Math Roberts have written a script that has the audience chuckling from the get-go.”
“The acting matches the script’s comedic brilliance.”

4 Star - Musical Theatre Review (https://musicaltheatrereview.com/dont-say-macbeth-edinburgh-festival-fringe/)

Sam Woof and Math Roberts “know exactly what they’re doing with a show-tune.”
“[…] underpinned by some very clever writing.”

Musical Theatre Review Award (https://musicaltheatrereview.com/goya-theatre-company-recognised-with-special-award-by-musical-theatre-review-edinburgh-fringe-judging-panel/)

“Special Award in recognition of the ethos, quality and exceptional creativity this young company has shown.”
“Edinburgh Editor Fiona Orr added: “It’s unusual to see such an assured debut here in Edinburgh. GOYA Theatre should be proud of what they have achieved and we look forward to seeing where their ambition will lead them.”
Musical Theatre Review publisher Lisa Martland commented: “Congratulations to GOYA Theatre Company on a well-deserved Special Award. What an achievement for a young company, having two shows in our Best Musical final ten. We can’t wait to see what they do next.”