Thrones! The Musical Parody @ Assembly George Square

Ashley Ward’s production of Thrones! The Musical Parody opens with a high-octane song recreating the opening titles of hit TV show Game of Thrones, setting a very high standard for the remainder of this comedy musical, and boy do the cast deliver.

Throughout the show, the cast recite satirical songs in order to explain the plot of the TV series to a character who has never seen the show before, refusing to leave out major plot spoilers – this is not a show for the casual Game of Thrones viewer!

Set in a humble living room, coupled with the intentionally DIY-looking costumes, makes for hilarious scene changes, going between The Wall, a Dothraki tent, and even transforming the curtains and an umbrella into Daenerys’ dragon. The six-person cast expertly play multiple roles, with characters differentiated by the odd change of a wig or the addition of a cloak. They also display an interesting range of accents – notably Ygritte and Jon Snow’s catchphrases of “You know nothing Jon Snow” and “I’m a bastard” respectively. The writers – members of theatre group Baby Wants Candy – have the natural gag writing talent to put many a Fringe stand-up to shame, littering the play with pun after pun on names, places and more pop-culture references than you can count.

The singing is also exceptional, and really makes their performances, as the cast are able to belt out show tunes while dancing and acting out side-splitting scenes; it’s a miracle there was no corpsing from the actors, really. The singing peaks with the inclusion of a heartfelt ballad from Hodor and how he held the door, which really tugs on the heartstrings, yet is still just as funny as the show's rap song about the 'red wedding'.

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Thrones! The Musical Parody, Assembly George Square Theatre (The Theatre), 2-26 August, 22.30, £14/£13

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