EDFRINGE REVIEW: Next to Normal (Bare Productions)
Next to Normal – ★★★★☆ – Beautiful agony
Bare Productions7-15 Aug
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Bare Productions brings the Scottish premiere of Next to Normal to the Fringe for a limited run at Paradise in Augustines, in a production that tackles the musical’s complicated material with heart and sensitivity.
The musical opens on an early morning in the Goodman house, with parents Dan and Diana, daughter Natalie, and son Gabe all preparing for the day ahead: Gabe, home late after curfew, Natalie having pulled an all-nighter studying, and Dan and Diana finding a moment for physical intimacy. It all seems like an ordinary, if frenetic, sort of scene, until with a rushing build in the music Diana begins assembling sandwich after sandwich on the floor, losing herself in focus on the task until Dan pulls her back to reality.
The company of Next to Normal. Pic: Ejay Freeman.
This is the first overt crack in Diana’s façade, but it quickly crumbles. The audience soon comes to understand that Gabe, who has until circulated through the family’s activities without directly interacting with anyone but Diana, is not there: he is a delusion born of Diana’s trauma at his death as an infant. Invisible, seventeen, and dead, Gabe is Diana’s constant companion, as real to her as anyone else. Next to Normal follows the Goodman family through the journey of Diana’s treatment, Natalie’s desire to be seen, Dan’s attempts to hold them all together, and their struggle to be whole —as a family, as individuals— in the wake of such a fracturing loss.
Dominic Whitefield-Holbrook directs with thoughtful precision, making the most of the Sanctuary’s built-in levels to define the musical’s locations, and moving seamlessly from scene to scene with entrances and exits that flow from one to the next, propelling the show along. Musical direction from Findlay Turnbull is of Bare’s usual high standard, with the live band working in excellent balance with the actors.
The Goodmans are joined by Henry Archer, Natalie’s somewhat bemused but endearing boyfriend. Ollie Hall brings real dimension to the character, managing to balance teenage awkwardness and not having all the answers with Henry’s good heart and support of Natalie. Also outside the family is Dr. Madden, Diana’s psychiatrist, brought to sympathetic life by Will Jackson. While the majority of this role is as a caring provider trying to help Diana recover her life and connection to her family, Jackson also has several over-the-top rockstar moments embodying Diana’s initial perception of him.
Will Jackson as Dr. Madden and Brikaih Flore as Diana. Pic: Ejay Freeman.
Within the family, each Goodman gives an outstanding performance, both vocally and in their relationships to each other. Kelsey Mackenzie’s Natalie strikes the perfect balance of (entirely justified) teenage angst and trying to understand what her parents are going through. Greg McCafferty-Thomson brings just the right sub-surface tension to Dan, the husband and father who has everything under control until he doesn’t. And as Gabe, Zac McGuire haunts the stage with creeping (though not creepy) dread, his physical performance becoming more clinging and insistent the deeper into Diana’s psyche the audience is allowed, representing the pain which has embedded itself so deeply within her. A late revelatory moment involving Gabe and Dan is a chilling highlight of the production.
Zac McGuire as Gabe. Pic: Ejay Freeman.
Brikaih Flore brings subtlety, strength, depth, and ultimate vulnerability to Diana. Capturing the multifaceted experience of a person living the kind of mental health challenges Diana faces is no easy task, but Flore more than rises to the occasion, delivering nuance from her quietest moments to the heights of her most powerful, rock-driven singing— the latter of which she manages to invest with as much emotional specificity as the former.
Next to Normal is neither an easy show to watch or to perform. As the first company to bring it to the stage in Scotland, Bare Productions have set a high standard, and this show is well worth the pain you’ll feel in watching it— the kind of pain that reminds you what’s real.
Running time: Two hours and twenty minutes with one interval
Venue: Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152), 41 George IV Bridge EH1 1EL
7-15 August 2026
Time: 7:40pm 7th; 6:40pm remainder of run
Tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/next-to-normal. The run is sold out online, but a limited number of tickets are available at the Paradise Green box office at Augustines from one hour before the performance.
Understudy performances: the 11th will feature Emily Copas as Diana, Gregor Robertson as Dan, and Youssef Basir as Dr. Madden. The 12th will feature Rebecca Drever as Natalie, Guy Bathgate as Gabe, and Youssef Basir as Henry.
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