She’s definitely not in Santa Monica anymore.
Everyone’s favourite 90s-style lifeguard has somehow washed up in Spray, a soggy and struggling British seaside town that’s considerably more grey skies than California sunshine.
If she wants any chance of getting home, she has a mission: whip Spray’s local lifeguards into shape and propel the town to the top of the global beach rankings.
Simple enough.
Except the waters surrounding Spray aren’t quite as innocent as they appear, and something rather sinister is lurking beneath the waves.
Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue is a brand-new unauthorised musical comedy mixing 90s lifeguard nostalgia with parody, big musical numbers and plenty of ridiculousness. Think Barbie meets The Book of Mormon – except with considerably more crabs.
So, this show was one of Theatre Village’s Top Ten picks for the Edinburgh Fringe, and it therefore felt only right that I actually went to see it.
Although, if I’m completely truthful, I think I just wanted hot sunshine, beautiful beaches and pure blue water.
Except the production ended up in the UK.
Disappointing or what?
Thankfully, the show itself was anything but disappointing.
I absolutely loved the sequencing of this production.
It contains humour, parody and even a dash of sympathy underneath all the madness. There is pure energy running through the show, and interestingly, I felt the production actually grew in confidence and production standards as it progressed.
The further into Spraywatch I travelled, the more I enjoyed it.
And eventually I was completely sold.
I loved every moment of this show.
There is an actual storyline holding everything together, rather than simply a collection of jokes loosely attached to a 90s lifeguard parody. That gives the production somewhere to go and gives the characters something to work with.
But naturally, the humour is a huge part of its success.
It’s silly.
It’s knowingly silly.
And that’s precisely why it works.
The cast understands the type of production they’re performing and throws itself completely into that world. The characters are played exceptionally well and the comedy is delivered with confidence.
There are also some fantastic vocals.
This is a proper musical comedy rather than a comedy with a few songs thrown in for good measure. The musical performances contribute significantly to the energy of the production and there are some seriously good voices within this cast.
There was, however, one slight downside when I attended.
The sound levels weren’t quite right.
The bass was too loud in places and occasionally drowned out the singing, particularly during the earlier parts of the production. When you’ve got performers capable of singing this well, you want to be able to hear those voices properly.
But I also think some context is important here.
This is the Edinburgh Fringe.
Productions can have incredibly short turnaround times between shows, sometimes with around ten minutes to get one company out and another one in.
Sets need changing. Performers need positioning. Sound needs checking. Lighting needs preparing.
And then suddenly there’s an audience sitting in front of you waiting for the show to begin.
That’s an enormous amount of pressure on performers and technical teams, and occasionally things aren’t going to be perfect.
For that reason, I’m treating the sound issue I experienced as exactly that: a technical issue that can be fixed rather than a fundamental problem with the production.
Because fundamentally, Spraywatch works.
The plot works.
The acting works.
The humour works.
The music works.
And most importantly, the whole thing is enormous fun.
There’s also something rather wonderful about taking the glamorous world of those iconic American beach lifeguards and dumping one into a soggy British seaside town.
Forget California.
Welcome to Spray.
This is exactly the sort of production I want to discover at the Fringe: something with a strong concept that doesn’t take itself too seriously, backed by performers who commit completely to making that concept work.
Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue is a hit you shouldn’t miss while it’s at the Fringe.
And I’m going to stick my head above the parapet here.
I think this show will have a life after Edinburgh.
In fact, I sincerely hope it goes on tour.
And please, tour the seaside towns.
There would be something wonderfully appropriate about Spraywatch turning up in theatres around the British coast, bringing its lifeguards, musical numbers and questionable marine life along for the ride.
The sound issues I experienced are temporary and easily fixable.
What matters much more is that the fundamentals are already there.
And a production that knows exactly what sort of show it wants to be.
Theatre Village put Spraywatch in its Top Ten before the Fringe.
I’m rather pleased to say it deserved its place.
This show has all the fundamentals to become a sea wave of success.
★★★★★ 5 Stars
Get on your surfboard and book: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/spraywatch-a-beautiful-rescue
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