PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms (Venue 68b): Sat 2 – Sun 24 Aug 2025
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Richard Lewis dances into the Speakeasy at the Voodoo Rooms for a full run of the Fringe with More Songs For A (Brave) New World, a new set of musical parodies sure to make you laugh, groan, and look for more.
“Who is this tall, elegant creature I get to spend the next hour of my life with?” Lewis asks by way of rhetorical introduction, perched behind his keyboard. He launches into the set by making fun of himself (“laughing at guys with pelican legs brings joy to the masses”), calling the crowd “dear audience” and thoroughly endearing himself before launching into songs about Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Brexit, and other such light-hearted stuff.
Richard Lewis. Pic Cat McInally.
True to the nature of parody and musical comedy, though, Lewis manages to make it all laughable— because sometimes what else can you do? And it’s not all dark comedy chuckles: somehow he segues into a song about all the acronyms on dating apps, a rumination on Beethoven; forays into John Williams, the Comet song, and ABBA.
It’s a mixed-up wonder of a musical revue, a testament to Lewis’s skill as both a musician and a comedian. A tidy and well-planned set, More Songs For A (Brave) New World is an intimate sort of rebellion against the increasing chaos of the world outside the Speakeasy doors, and Lewis the court jester who can get away with anything with a wink and a smile.
Running time: 55 minutes (no interval).
PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms (Speakeasy), West Register St, EH2 2AA. (Venue 68b).
Saturday 2 – Sunday 24 August 2025.
Daily (not Mon 11 or 18): 14.50pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Instagram: @ricsiluigi
ENDS