ED FRINGE 2023 REVIEW: After This Plane Has Landed ★★

Previewing at The Old Joint Stock Pub Theatre in Birmingham before heading up to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, Adrian Kimberlin has brought the tale of British Reporter John McCarthy's hostage story, which took place in 1986, and turned the ordeal into an unbalanced musical that doesn't really know if it wants to be funny, or taken seriously; moments surrounding Arts Council, and an actor refusing to sing early in the show, fall flat with the audience in attendance, whilst important story beats regarding the ordeal itself are condensed into song that doesn't allow any tension to breath or settle.

Benedict Powell and Claire Russell must be given credit for working with what the text provides; they give decent performances in the roles of John and Jill, but you can't help but feel like the writing doesn't allow for much chemistry between eachother in moments where they are physically present in the same space. Whether the show has further rehearsal before heading up to Edinburgh remains to be seen, but from the response in Birmingham, it feels as though work must be put into making the script stronger, before the work can truly find it's ground.