Remember, Remember! review – some bright sparks might have a hit musical on their hands

A multi-roling historical musical centred on a high-stakes plot to alter the nation’s destiny, and based on a famous rhyme to boot? If that premise feels intimately familiar, it is because hits like Operation Mincemeat and Six have already well and truly paved the way. Remember, Remember!, the new musical from WIT? Theatre Company, isn’t treading groundbreaking new territory, but it carves out its own wildly entertaining niche through a barrage of joyous, anachronistic humour and sharp musical theatre references.

The production leans heavily into pop-culture mashups, firing off gag after gag that range from Kim Woodburn and Jane McDonald to Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Musical theatre aficionados will also spot a deeply satisfying nod to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The script finds brilliant comedic mileage in historical quirks – most notably making a hysterical joke out of Mary, Queen of Scots dying on Mean Girls Day – alongside icky riffs on gout and a fresh portrayal of King James I as a queer monarch.

At the heart of the story is the tragicomic irony of Robert Catesby, the mastermind desperate for historical immortality, utterly oblivious to the fact that posterity will only ever remember the suave, smooth-talking macho man Guy Fawkes. Staged in the very same venue that previously birthed major Fringe musical hits like One Man Musical, the production brings infectious, jumpy energy and a touch of forbidden romance to the Pleasance stage.

However, it hits a sudden wall right at the finish line. The key flaw is that the show simply lacks a proper ending, running out of steam and fizzling out just when it ought to peak. It desperately needs an extra 20 minutes to craft a smarter, more satisfying conclusion. With a reworked final act, this show could truly soar; for now, it remains a thoroughly fun, sparky night out that just needs a stronger fuse at the end.