Nuns! at Assembly George Square Studios Review
This new comedy is from Dog Complex Theatre, working in collaboration with the team behind the hugely popular Police Cops. Nuns! Takes us back to medieval Bavaria for the story of Sister Gertrude, the holiest nun in the convent, intent on fighting sin, witchcraft and her own lustful thoughts.
The cast of three work very well together and take on a range of characters including the titular nuns, a roller skating monk, witch hunters, the Queen of the Fairies, a blustering bishop and a trio of trolls that provide one of the show’s stand-out sequences with a simple but very silly idea executed with well timed choreography, it’s one of those “How on earth did they come up with that?” moments and very funny.
The plot, dare I suggest, takes some liberties with historical accuracy – introduced by three German “teachers” who are using theatre to get across their pious message, having been slated for previous boring lectures. We then begin the story of Sister Gertrude. The pace is fast, the energy high and the costume changes not always slick. But this lack of polish is a big part of the show’s appeal – there’s a feeling that it could descend into absolute chaos at any moment, with occasional ad libs that are as fresh to the actors on stage as they are to the audience. But this sense of chaos is undoubtedly completely deliberate and timed with precision as the actors never miss a beat or a line, only pausing occasionally to spray “holy water” on sinners in the audience.
As our characters set off on their travels – searching out evil or running from it (and sometimes towards it) – these action sequences are accompanied by the sort of banging pop soundtrack that you’d expect from a 1980s aerobics video as the trio run on the spot with an energy that would make Usain Bolt pause for breath and a sit down. Following the aerobics theme, there are a lot of leotards (special mention to Brother Bertram’s nude look) and simple additions to the basic costume allow us to imagine effects greater than the production budget allows – I particularly liked the flaming torch.
Nuns! doesn’t have a profound message, although perhaps it does ask us not to see everything as black or white, good or evil. There’s magic inside all of us and perhaps the bad guys aren’t all bad and the good guys are definitely not all good (even when they are wearing shiny silver shorts and a cowboy hat as all medieval bishops do!). It’s an unashamedly silly hour of fast-paced comedy that’s a great way to round off a day at the Fringe.
Nuns! Is at Assembly George Square Studios until 31st August 2026.
★★★★
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.