Bliss musical review – a bright future might beckon for this enchanting musical

Arriving at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with formidable pedigree, Bliss, penned by Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie, has been widely trumpeted as the festival’s largest new musical.

Crafted with an eye clearly fixed on a London transfer, this 85-minute premiere boasts high production values, a lavish 17-strong cast, and rich choreography from Josh Prince that easily outshines standard Fringe fare.

The narrative flips traditional fairytale tropes on their head. Four princess sisters, kept locked away in a tower by an overbearing father, emerge delightfully over-educated yet entirely naive to the outside world. Upon escaping, astronomy-obsessed Piper (a tuneful and earnest Akshara Gunda) encounters her Fairy Godfather Glimmermore – a delightfully self-serving villain played with scene-stealing charisma by House of the Dragon’s Tom Bennett. His magical “Lagoon” promises ultimate glamour, but functions as an engine of dull conformity, reframing the classic fairytale makeover as a loss of identity.

Visually, the production is stunning. Paloma Young’s costume design shines, lending the show a polished, high-budget flair. There’s excellent lighting design from Jai Morjaria. Musically, Lively and Beattie deliver an energetic pop-rock score packed with potential earworms. While the comic male roles – including an endearing Prince Devin (Jordan Calloway) – provide brilliant support, they never steal focus from the central four sisters. Each young performer delivers a powerhouse vocal turn, particularly the animal-obsessed princess Holly (Matilda Shapland) whose comedic timing is a standout treat. Quirky flourishes like a unicorn named Stacey and latent dragon subplots add immense charm.

Currently corseted by being a one-act show, it all feels slightly rushed in its second half: it isn’t hard to imagine exactly where additional beats and numbers could help the show reach its full potential.

Crucially, the creators ought to sidestep the more panto-esque moments and tighten their focus squarely on an underserved young teen demographic: before these audiences are inevitably swept away by ageing into the viral TikTok dominance of Six and Heathers, Bliss offers a vital, empowering alternative in the vein of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World. With a bit of fine-tuning, this packed-out hit has a long, bright journey ahead of it as it inevitably travels south – I’ll be primed and ready to give it a second review once it gets there.