The Notebook – Ed Fringe 2023

The Notebook: theSpace @ Niddry St – Lower Theatre

21st August 2023

★★★

The Songsmiths are back for their fourth year at the Fringe with new show, The Notebook. Performing a variety of uplifting, sassy and sentimental numbers with their own a cappella twist the Songsmiths… The show features hits by Harry Styles, Stevie Wonder, Adele, Florence and the Machine and more.

Featuring a larger groups than last year, including some returning members and some new voices The Songsmiths this year are focusing on the stories of love. Once again, the harmonies and arrangements of the songs are very good. ‘September’, in particular, is a fun upbeat number and certainly gets the audience bopping along. ‘Put Your Records On’ was another highlight of the set and utilised sound effects as well as the excellent vocal percussion.

Unfortunately, there were a few technical issues with this show, particularly with the microphones. Throughout the show the lead vocalists were hard to hear, particularly deciphering the lyrics that they were singing, which does impact on the meaning of the songs.

The choreography works well to keep the group moving around the stage, enabling the audience to see from any viewpoint. The Songsmiths are undoubtably very strong vocalists, they definitely have talent, but do need to be more confident and energetic at times.

The Songsmiths are definitely an ensemble group, each member gets the chance to have lead vocals on at least one song which makes it a really inclusive show and shows of its individual talents and voices. Whilst there are few technical and confidence issues to deal with, The Notebook is still a lively, engaging a cappella show worth a viewing at this year’s Fringe.

For information and tickets click here.