Nearlyweds – The Musical, theSpace @ Venue 45 Review
Nearlyweds – The Musical is a fun, light-hearted new musical with a talented cast and plenty of potential, but on the performance I attended, some production issues unfortunately distracted from what was happening on stage.
The story follows Lily, a people-pleasing Scottish bride who runs away from her wedding, alongside Jake, a fiancé-to-be whose life isn’t quite as glamorous as he believes. What follows is a musical comedy filled with colourful characters, relationships, mishaps and plenty of humour.
One of the production’s strongest elements is its cast. Vocally, they handle the material well, with some strong voices across the company and plenty of enthusiasm in the musical numbers. There’s an infectious energy to the performers, and they commit fully to the larger-than-life characters and comedy of the piece.
Where the production struggled more was in its overall polish. Set changes could have been neater and quicker, with some transitions feeling slightly clunky and interrupting the flow between scenes.
The biggest issue, however, was the amount of noise coming from backstage. Loud whispering, talking and banging could be heard regularly throughout the performance and, at times, became genuinely distracting from the actors performing on stage. Of course, some backstage noise is inevitable in a Fringe venue, particularly in a production with multiple performers, props and set changes, but here it was both constant and excessive enough to pull focus from scenes.
It’s particularly frustrating because the cast on stage are clearly working hard, and there are enjoyable moments within the show. With a little more attention paid to what is happening offstage and some tightening of the transitions, the whole production would immediately feel much more polished.
Nearlyweds has the foundations of an enjoyable Fringe musical comedy, supported by a cast who can certainly sing and bring plenty of energy to the material. There’s lots to like here, but at present the production needs a little more refinement to allow its strongest elements to properly shine.
NearlyWeds - The Musical played at theSpace @ Venue 45 as part of the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
★★★
Written by Liam for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
