I think it’s fair to say that Come Dine With Me is a staple and incredibly popular television show, that has stood the test of time. The show where four to five strangers cook for each other all week and in secret mark their rivals out of ten. There is no show like it and that is why it has been running for so many years. It’s a guilty pleasure for many.

Come Dine With Me The Musical, is a show that wants to explore this programme. It focusses on the producer and her production team wanting to create the best television for the 1000th episodes. The location they go to has the contestants of a vegan, a posh lady, an award winning pork pie maker and a contestant that has a past with the sound guy.

First things first, the actors and actresses are incredibly talented. They have fantastic voices and before the show even starts they interact with the audience which is a nice touch. I think there is a live band as well behind the curtain. I cannot confirm this but it sounded like that. If there isn’t then the sound has to be praised in regardless. I have been to many musicals at the fringe in the past and the music very rarely sounds as good as it did at this show.

Now, as a show that was marketed as Come Dine With Me, I felt it lacked on the theme. The storyline was fun, yet slightly predictable but it didn’t really focus on what makes the show great instead it was focused more on the production side of the show which may sound like a great concept but when you go to a show marketed as Come Dine With Me you expect more kitchen drama, more contestant rivalry or even more times for the contestants to speak or even the odd random reference to famous contestants from the show ( Just as an example the contestant who puts a whisk in their mouth, or the person who has a bizarre entertainment, or the other contestants who accidentally add sugar instead of salt or the one that deliberately marks down).

For a show about cooking there was no kitchen drama, only a tiny amount that pushes the narrative along but I would of expected more.

I know that shows at the fringe need to be aimed at all audience members to appeal to the masses, including those who do not watch the show but I felt that it ended up focussing more on the romance of the sound engineer then the actual show.

Even if people are not aware of the concept of the show, having more drama in the kitchen or with the contestants I think would of worked well instead of making the production team the story, it should of been on the contestants. The reason I also say this is that the actors playing these roles were very good at bringing their personas alive and could of done so much more with them.

It’s a fun afternoon of musical fun but if you are looking for a show that will create the drama and the experience of the programme, you will be disappointed. Expect a romance narrative that is set loosely on the theme of Come Dine With Me.

Rating: *** 3 Stars