By Ron Bingham
A feminist, educational musical comedy aimed at young people produced by the same people who brought us the incredibly successful SIX, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World has been created by some very talented people and is unsurprisingly a very polished performance that is heaps of fun.
A young schoolgirl called Jade is left behind next to a closed off section of a museum, before being enticed to go behind the curtain and meet some famous women from history, who tell her the stories behind the school history book summary of their lives. These characters include Amelia Earhard, Jane Austen, Frida Kahlo, Sacagawewa, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Mary Anning and Emmaline Pankhurst. They give Jade advice on self-belief, perseverance, determination, respect and community spirit in word and song (and a little dance), all while surreptitiously teaching the audience as well.
There is no programme or information about the cast online, (it seems that the young lead character Jade is performed by a rotating group of four actresses) but if the actress playing Jade on the night I went really is only twelve years old, she must be a child prodigy, as it was an extraordinary performance!
The other cast members play a number of parts, which involve some very quick changes off-stage, and the show flowed quickly and without a hitch from start to finish (ninety minutes). The three piece band sit in little cubicles at the rear top of the stage and were excellent.
This show is full of positive messages for young (and old) people, rarely gets bogged down or preachy, is bright and colourful, and will leave the audience with a happy glow by the end, and may even have you humming/downloading some of the songs afterwards. The show I attended saw the audience (probably about 200 people) give a rousing standing ovation at the end. One for the whole family.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World is on at Pleasance Courtyard
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/fantastically-great-women-who-changed-the-world