Cheryl: A Rock Opera ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We have been fans of John Otway for many years and although, frankly, he doesn't change his act often we are always looking for an opportunity to see him again. So, when I saw "Cheryl - A Rock Opera" in the brochure this was an easy decision to add this to our spreadsheet.

It can be easy to just select shows from the "paid" Fringe, but as there is so much talent everywhere you look I now ensure we have one day to just see "Free shows " .

So, after a rare lie-in we went to see the astonishing "Olaf Falafel". As we are getting older I don't like to factor in too short a turnaround between shows. But as I so wanted to see both shows I allowed us half an hour to get from the Pear Tree to Bannermans (both new venues for us).

It might have been a tight change over but, boy, was it worth it. An additional joy of this show is that it gave us the opportunity to finally catch "Attila The Stockbroker" who has been on our radar for quite a while, and is a Fringe legend in his own right.

If you aware of Otway's back catalogue you should know one of his classics "Cheryl's Coming Home" , which I have only recently realised was written by Bob Lind (whose most famous song is "Elusive Butterfly").

It was Attila who wanted to know more about Cheryl's story and encouraged John to write a Rock Opera to provide more detail. So, in 1991 they performed this at the Edinburgh festival and 35 years they are back.

They may not look the same as they did 35 years ago but they certainly haven't lost the ability to entertain and captivate their audience. Otway can still wield his guitar and carry a song whilst Attila ( who gave us a lovely interview which you can read in our news section) rarely misses a beat whilst delivering lines and rhymes Chaucer would have been delighted with. The interplay between them is a joy to behold, especially with both of them seemingly enjoying themselves as much on stage as those watching.

As the Opera doesn't run an hour (even quicker today as Attila hadn't been drinking), we get the bonus of additional material from each of them including Attila's song about Count Binface who was involved in a big election that day.

Anyone who is a fan of the 2 performers should head to see this show. Even if you are late to the party you should still take this opportunity to see two legends together, or their solo shows, of which there are three!