REVIEW: One Man Musical, Flo and Joan, Edinburgh Fringe 2026 ★★★★

The man, the myth, the legend…and the band. Flo and Joan return to the Fringe with One Man Musical, their hilarious potted history of Andrew Lloyd Webber, this time on bigger platforms and in a condemned rowing gym.

Flanked by the deadpan duo is Edward Easton as the King of Musicools himself. His manic, preening performance is delightful to watch as the aristocrat recounts his rise from precocious schoolboy to the wealthy icon standing before us now. He clings to when he was the hip, relevant voice of a generation and worries about Lin Manuel Miranda’s usurpation of his throne.

While the overall comedy-musical-hour structure isn’t especially innovative, Flo and Joan’s melodic wit, along with charismatic delivery by Easton while the pair holds court on drums and keys, make it a certifiable treat.

The songs are distinct and catchy – my favourites included a club banger about the creation of Cats and a ballad dedicated to Webber’s wife Sarah that is ingeniously reprised later on. Like the rest of the show, they strike a nice balance between parody and appreciation, taking us on a nostalgic theatre-loving journey of perfect musical pastiche infused with clever commentary on Webber’s missteps and controversies – for instance, why has the famous philanthropist never invested in new musical theatre writing?

The running jokes about Tim Rice alone are worth the price of admission. All the while, a rack of costumes behind Easton and a fake cat visually punctuate each section from the bombastic blazered opening number to the infamous Starlight Express saga on wheels, because “no one says no to Andrew!”

There were times where the sound mixing placed the instruments above the vocals, resulting in drowned out vowels, and in such a joke-dense show, I was sad to miss any millisecond of script. However, One Man Musical is an absolute blast, and I look forward to hopefully hearing it crisply many more times.

Recommended Drink: Expensive white wine from the Christie’s auction of ALW’s private collection (or dupe)

Catch One Man Musical at Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond) from August 18-30 at 16:50 (70 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.