Moving On: A New Musical
★★★★☆ Touching
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Venue 31): Fri 1 – Thurs 14 Aug 2025
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Ghosties and ghoulies and interpersonal sibling drama abound in Moving On, a new musical from Happy Sad Productions playing at Braw’s Hill Street Street Theatre for the first half of the Fringe.
Written by Amber Docherty (assistant director), Roza Stevenson (director), and Josh Wood (musical director), this touching family drama-meets-ghost story is both poignant and humorous, with its lively music matched by some stellar performances.
The siblings in Moving On. Pic: Iona Wood.
Mortimer Removals, run by siblings Robin (Heather Richardson), Davie (Marc Robertson), and Sam (Orla Bayne), are hired to do a clear out job at Arcane Manor, where the previous owner has just died. When they arrive, spooky things quickly begin to happen, leading the trio to meet the ghostly residents of the manor.
They learn of the house’s curse that kills its owners through electrical accidents from glamorous ghost Hattie (Maggie May Goodall) – hairdryer in the bath – and the appropriately named DJ (Oliver Payn) – electrocution through his decks. The ghosts aren’t able to talk to the living about how they died, but discover a loophole: singing. It’s a musical, of course they do!
Curse
The ghosts blame ancient ghost Geoffrey (Sandy Bishop) for the curse. But unbeknownst to the other Mortimers, Robin has been willed the house by the most recent owner, her former teacher Miss Crustwell (Amber Docherty, covering for Iona Wood through the 9th).
Fright Night in Moving On. Pic: Iona Wood
Not all is as it seems, and the race is on to figure out how to break the house’s curse. All the while, the siblings are going through it: Sam wanting to move away but feeling responsible for his younger siblings; Davie is dreaming of Broadway, but making no progress in his career; Robin, the youngest, feeling that she has to be the admin of the family, keeping everyone in line. With their parents deceased in what appears to be a car accident, the Mortimer sibs have had to grow up too fast.
Moving On handles the various threads of its story superbly well, managing to give time and detail to each character, with their quirks and dreams, without losing track of the overall plot. Though the first act is a little unbalanced in proportion of dialogue to songs, leaning much more heavily towards the former, the songs that are present firmly establish this show’s musical excellence.
living in musical theatre land
The score is firmly and unabashedly living in musical theatre land, not trying to be a pop or rock show, refreshingly classic and accessible while also crisp and interesting. The trio of siblings demonstrate what’s in store from the opening number, with tight and perfectly blended harmonies. Every individual in this cast is a star in their own right, and each character feels rounded and real, with vocal performances that are perfectly attuned to their personalities.
The Moving On Company. Pic: Iona Wood.
Docherty, Stevenson, and Wood are clearly a writing and production team to be reckoned with. The script and score are packed with the kind of jumble of laughter, frustration, and fear of the unknown that makes it feel true to life – and maybe even the afterlife. With some cheeky fourth wall breaking and references to its musical inspirations (and others – “my wee sister’s inside, and though she be little, she is fierce”), Moving On is aware of its ancestry and nestles right in to the family tree with Sondheim, Tesori, and Kander & Ebb.
runs the gamut of emotions
Happy Sad Productions live up to their name with Moving On. It’s happy, it’s sad, it runs the gamut of emotions that make up life, and it wraps them up in a bow that’s just untidy enough to remind you that a human tied it.
Though the current short two acts don’t necessarily feel like the story is lacking much, it could easily be longer with a bit more development. As Davie would probably say: “I like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it.”
Running time: One hour and 45 minutes (including one interval).
Braw Venues @ Hill Street (Theatre Alba), 19 Hill Street EH2 3JP (Venue 41).
Friday 1 – Thursday 14 August 2025.
Daily: 7.15pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Facebook: @happysadproductions
Instagram: @happysadproductions
TikTok: @happysadproductions
Linktree: @HappySadProductions
The Cast of Happy Sad’s Moving On. Pic: Iona Wood.
ENDS
