Wasn’t he lovely? Just ask Phil the celebrant. But seriously, he was. OK, funnily, he was. Very Funnily as it happens, nicely illustrating how to compose an hour of laughs with few swear words or much fabricated controversy in sight.
But he didn’t neglect dark. There was plenty about death and what’s one to expect when you were reared by a mother obsessed with murder documentaries and the idea that bad things (death, chiefly) come in threes? Or insisting that any track from the radio meeting approval be added to the ‘I want that at my funeral’ list.
In this potted account of his life Andrew’s inspirational Mum took top billing, co-stars being his hubby, sundry friends and mentors from teenage years when White’s social circle consisted of 60-year-olds. Precocious, him? Johnathan The Jester’s positive impact was celebrated and Gareth with his Suzuki Omnichord was given a cameo. But what of his father? ‘Nah, he was boring.’
White swept onto the stage in a dashing pair of black glitter kecks, no mean feat when achieved on a pair of matching heels. He sources things like this from charity shops but unfortunately his enthusiasm for vintage clothing of a feminine nature means he’s been barred from open casket funerals.
As, if he had his way, would be celebrants, proving his point by conducting a short service for shy audience member Andrew. There’s comic poignancy in the story of his Mum, not least her reluctance to go to Dignitas in Switzerland without travel insurance and some caustic words for conversion therapy in the USA where a week’s course ends with a musical of Peter Pan… glossing over Hook’s rumoured tryst with Smee.
Smiles all round, from start to finish.
Running August 3rd – 30th (not 18th) https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/andrew-white-what-a-life
Reviewer: Roger Jacobs
Reviewed: 14th August 2026
North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating: 4