REVIEW: Remember, remember!, WIT? Theatre Company, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★

SIX, Operation Mincemeat, Hamilton… move aside! There’s a new historical musical in town.

Remember, Remember! makes its intentions very clear from even before you enter Queen Dome’s auditorium, as lutes and pipes playing Lady Gaga and Gotye greet you. You pass Early Modern-esque portraits of famous faces on your way in: Alan Carr, Gemma Collins, The Beckhams, even Super Nanny, eyeball you with Renaissance gazes as you take your seat. This is going to be a very serious, intellectual and historically accurate account of The Gunpowder Plot – not.

In this delightfully camp, sarcastic, meme-worthy musical extravaganza recounting the events of 5th November 1605, we meet Robert Catesby and his not-so-secret society of Catholic revolutionaries. We embark on a journey through the plotting of their “labour-intensive” attack on Parliament. However, full of anachronisms, hilarious musical numbers and a world in which everyone is called Stuart, this ‘incredibly misinformed, inaccurate retelling’ of the Gunpowder Plot dissolves into hysterical chaos. Between a smarmy influencer-marketing dreamboat Guy Fawkes and a murderous yet twinky King James I, Robert is fighting against the odds to pull off his plan and go down in history as the hero of the hour, or hopefully of the era… no spoilers about how that turns out!

With hilarious one-liners, slick choreography and original, catchy new music written by the cast themselves, Kluane Saunders, Tom O’Kelly, Lucy Buncombe, and Ross Tomlinson are four powerhouse singers and are incredibly versatile, switching between outlandish caricatures and controlled, perfectly-pitched comedic audience interactions. I can’t help but be reminded of TikTok sensation Mitch Wood at times, lovingly mocking ensembles in musical theatre, and this is largely successful, creating a collective cynical amusement with the audience that matches the tone of the “true story” well. I felt that at times, though, this became a little repetitive; I would have liked to see the musical style and characters develop further to showcase further talents of the actors, which I am certain they have, and I believe this could have unlocked a deeper emotional investment from the audience that the four actors had certainly worked hard to win by the end with their non-stop energy and charisma.

If you are looking for an hour of feel-good theatre performed by a seriously talented cast, and a proper good laugh, then this is the EdFringe show for you. One to watch!

Recommended Drink: A pint of ale. Water was considered unhealthy in the Tudor – I mean, Stuart! – times, after all.

Catch Remember, Remember! from 5-30 August (not 17, 24) at 17:15 (1 hour). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.