Up Til Now is a celebration of the strength of platonic love, following five students on the brink of change. At a time when friendships have become family and the future feels frighteningly undefined, do you cling to what you know or are you desperate to break free?
As graduation approaches, plans diverge, relationships shift and the question of what comes next becomes impossible to ignore. Exploring identity and uncertainty, the production asks what we carry with us when the place that shaped us can no longer hold us.
Now, if I were to divide this production into four quarters, I would say that the first quarter needs some work.
For me, it didn’t land as strongly as the rest of the production ultimately would. It felt as though the show was still trying to find its feet and establish exactly what it wanted to be, rather than immediately pulling me into the lives of these characters.
There were also moments during some of the musical numbers where one performer would be singing while another was talking or singing over the top. Rather than complementing each other, the voices sometimes created a clash of sounds, making it difficult to hear either performer with complete clarity.
That’s something I would certainly look at again because these performers have excellent voices, and you really don’t want to lose them amongst competing sound.
But then something happened.
The show actually started to get better.
The characters became stronger, the storyline became more apparent and suddenly I found myself becoming much more invested in this slightly chaotic student household and the people living within it.
And this is where Up Til Now really starts showing what it can do.
The performers’ ability to sing was outstanding. These are first-class voices, and there are some genuinely powerful musical numbers within the production. When the performers are given the space to let those voices shine, they absolutely do.
There is some serious vocal talent on that stage.
The cast also throws plenty of enthusiasm into the production. They commit to these characters and, as the relationships begin to develop, you increasingly believe that these people have actually shared a house, shared experiences and probably argued about whose turn it is to clean the kitchen.
The relationships between the female characters were particularly well displayed and, most importantly, believable.
That matters enormously.
A musical celebrating platonic love needs us to believe in those friendships. We need to feel that these people have history together, and increasingly throughout the production, I did.
If you’ve ever been a student, there are also moments where you will instantly recognise the world being presented.
The slightly chaotic living arrangements, friendships, uncertainty, and those student house parties where everybody somehow ends up squeezed into one room – it is all there.
In fact, I was easily transported back into a student house and the production even brought back memories of my own student house parties.
Thankfully, I think some of those memories are probably best left there.
There are some genuinely funny moments within the show too, and the humour works best when it comes naturally from the personalities and relationships of the characters rather than feeling like it has been inserted simply to generate a laugh.
Where I think Up Til Now needs further development is within its plot.
There is certainly a storyline here, but if this production were to go on tour after the Fringe, I think the plot needs to become stronger and contain some punchier moments.
The foundations are there.
We have friendship, uncertainty, identity and the frightening prospect of everyone suddenly heading in different directions. That’s actually very fertile territory for a musical.
But I wanted some of those moments to hit harder.
Give these characters bigger turning points. Raise the stakes in places. Make us really worry about whether these friendships will survive once the safety net of university disappears.
Because the actors can only deliver what is in the script – and they deliver what they have with lots of enthusiasm.
That’s why I think this production has potential beyond Edinburgh.
There is something here.
The concept works, the cast works and, crucially for an original musical, the performers can really sing.
With some rewriting of the opening quarter and further development of the individual plots running through the story, I could easily see Up Til Now having a successful life after the Fringe.
And that’s one of the great things about Edinburgh.
Shows don’t necessarily arrive here as their final finished product. Sometimes you are watching something that is still discovering exactly what it can become.
Up Til Now feels like one of those productions.
It is already an enjoyable show to watch, with a talented cast, fantastic voices, believable friendships and plenty of moments that will resonate with anyone who has experienced student life and that strange period where one chapter of your life is ending while you have absolutely no idea what the next one is supposed to look like.
Overall, a delightful show with plenty of potential.
Grab a ticket whilst you can.
★★★★ 4 Stars -Fantastic voices, believable friendships and bags of potential.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/up-til-now
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