Trial By Jury – Paradise at Augustines

Trial By Jury is a wacky 40 minute long operatic musical that centres around a bride being jilted at aisle by her cheating fiancé and the legal battle for compensation. The 1875  Gilbert and Sullivan musical is fast paced, fun and overall bizarre in parts with a twist in the end that had a handful of the audience audibly gasp “wait what?”, although I shall not spoilt it for you.

Theatre company Cat Like Tread have produced their own production of the show well, giving us a bonny little cast and some very impressive vocals. Their vocals as a group hold well together and you can easily pickup on each of the individual harmonies without anyone taking over completely. There are some nice visuals throughout as the cast use the entire stage space and have simple but effective choreography during most numbers. I particularly enjoyed a number which features the used of lights to illuminate the different important parties of the trial. It is clear that this production is a labour and love.

An interesting approach was taken in setting the play within modern times, with the heavy use of mobile phones throughout to take selfies and phone calls. Whilst this seemed to show the weight we put upon what we see and project onto social media or simply strives to show us a true modern perspective of the world, I wonder if the play is better set in its original time period? Civil trials by jury are a rarity in this modern day and certainly wouldn’t be used for a jilting at the alter case, on top of that the powers of a woman were much more different in the 1800s and so it would add more weight as to why our plaintiff is still in need of marrying someone.

This a very talented cast. Our plaintiff Angelina (Emma Lawson) is sweet but manipulative, she knows how to work the room with her angelic vocals and dramatic swooning. Our defendant (Alex Gunn) is easy to dislike, nonchalant and when needed charming, and our judge (Scott Thomson) is brilliantly unqualified, this is a judge that should not be sat in a court of law but by 1800s standards absolutely would be.

Overall, this is a very fun short opera, easy on the ears, comedically inclined and well composed. Get tickets whilst you still can.

Trial By Jury plays until the 25^th august 19:00 at Paradise at Augustines- The Sanctuary. Buy tickets at: Trial by Jury | Musicals and Opera | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com)

Reviewer: Beth Eltringham

Reviewed: 21st August 2024

North West End UK Rating: