Following successful Edinburgh Fringe runs in 2024 and 2025, alongside appearances at London’s Ambassadors Theatre, Underbelly Boulevard and a sell-out performance at Cornwall’s Minack Theatre, Shantify is back in Edinburgh.
The concept is wonderfully simple: take the spirit and unmistakable harmonies of traditional sea shanties and throw in songs you would never normally expect to hear performed that way.
A crew of West End performers transforms everything from musical theatre favourites to huge pop and rock anthems into high-energy sea shanties. It’s part concert, part musical entertainment and a celebration of music, friendship and, naturally, the sea.
My family member is a big fan of sea shanties, so I actually went to this performance purely as a customer rather than specifically to review it.
But seeing as I was there, it seemed rather silly not to review it as well.
And I’m glad I did.
The cast is made up of a mix of West End performers, and they certainly know how to command a stage.
They bring the spirit and atmosphere of traditional sea shanties and mix them with modern songs in ways you probably wouldn’t expect. The musical voyage takes us everywhere from Eminem to The Proclaimers and plenty more besides.
It shouldn’t necessarily work.
But it absolutely does.
There is something inherently entertaining about hearing a song you instantly recognise suddenly transformed into something that sounds as though it could be belted out by a group of sailors several hundred years ago.
The harmonies are particularly impressive. These are performers who can seriously sing, and when all of those voices come together, the sound they produce is powerful.
It was also a packed house when I attended.
You could feel the atmosphere from the audience throughout the performance. This isn’t really a show where everybody sits silently, politely applauds and then disappears at the end. Shantify actively wants its audience to have a good time, and judging by the reaction around me, that’s exactly what they were doing.
The staging has also been very well thought out.
The inclusion of a catwalk means that regardless of where you’re sitting, you should get a good view of the action. The cast also clearly understands the importance of blocking, regularly moving around the performance space so different sections of the audience get their moment with them.
It’s a relatively simple thing, but it makes a big difference.
Nobody wants to spend an entire Fringe performance staring at the back of somebody’s head.
The overall feel of Shantify makes it very much a family show. There are jokes, storytelling, plenty of interaction and, of course, lots of music.
Now, I actually found myself looking at this production in two slightly different ways.
As a theatre reviewer, there were moments when I found the show perhaps a little too playful.
As an ordinary theatre-goer who had bought a ticket and simply wanted to be entertained, however, I found that aspect fairly minimal and it certainly didn’t dampen my spirits.
And perhaps that’s actually the more important test for a production like this.
Shantify isn’t pretending to be a deeply serious piece of theatre. It knows exactly what it is.
It’s there to entertain you.
And it does.
This is a well-produced and well-thought-out show. There is clearly a lot of experience behind it, from the staging and musical arrangements through to how the performers interact with the audience.
Most importantly, it captivated the packed audience around me and was simply a joy to watch.
Sometimes at the Fringe you don’t need to analyse every lighting cue, dramatic motivation or artistic decision.
Sometimes you just want to sit down and have a really good time.
Shantify delivers exactly that.
Judging by the audience reaction when I attended, I would be very surprised if its success ended in Edinburgh. I can easily imagine this production having further life after the Fringe and perhaps even heading out on tour.
Overall, Shantify is infectious, brilliantly sung and unapologetically good fun.
Ahoy Lads and Lasses
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/shantify
★★★★★ 5 Stars
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