REVIEW: Nearlyweds The Musical, Jaz Alice Music, EdFringe 2025 ★★★★

This charming new musical is already quite ahead of the game for a Edinburgh fringe production, a semi relatable story with inspirations such as Love Actually and Mamma Mia, an EP already released, merch on the table on the way out and an incredibly talented cast and music that Sondheim speed lovers would be jealous of. Stand out numbers include ‘Proud’, ‘Brian from Accounting’ and ‘me and the little one’ which never fails to make me bawl.

I’m of course talking about Nearlyweds, currently playing at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall this beautiful six hander tells the story of Lily (Sarah Alexander-Brown), who abandons her fiancée at the altar in search for a new life. She hops on a plane to London with no one she knows on the other side of the pond besides food pun loving Gail (Kate Leyva) who both become the definition of female friendship and opposites attract that we all need in this environment. 

It’s not just Lily with her relationship struggles, at their rehearsal dinner Sophia (Elise Burt) calls out her fiancée Jake (Ollie Wray) at their rehearsal dinner which also leaves him in search of a new life. This leads into a chain of events that lead us through the power of connection, friendship and the power of your self worth and trust.

The book is very enjoyable, with well rounded characters and arcs throughout, you can easily find someone you relate to in the traditional stereotypes of these stories. The importance of valuable friendships and camaraderie from both sides aren’t left out with Alexander-Brown and Leyva being absolute comedic gold but make us bawl the next moment and Billy Robinson’s Brian and Ollie Wray giving us the emotional depths of familial bonds. What you think is a relationship story is also a workplace drama at its core with twists and turns of a fast paced TV show little detail is left to the imagination.

You can catch Nearlyweds The Musical until August 23rd at Fleming Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall from 12:45 (50mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.