Roses to the Living
★☆☆☆☆ Ambitious
Paradise in the Vault (Venue 29): Sat 8 – Sat 15 Aug 2026
Review by Bri Boehm
Pasuz Productions’ latest EdFringe show, Roses To The Living at Paradise in the Vault, is an ambitious fourth-wall breaking piece of theatre that ultimately struggles to execute its concept both in text and in performance.
Fiona Hourston’s playwriting debut concerns a young woman’s Fringe show about Margaret of Anjou is heckled and eventually hijacked by the spirits of Margaret herself and William Shakespeare.
L to R – Ennae McKnight as Molly with Fiona Hourston as Margaret; Tony Bittner as Diva; John Beattie as Will. Pic Parsuz
The two spirits—played by Fiona herself and John Beattie—argue over historical perspectives and fictional depictions of Margaret, and eventually end up confronting the young woman, Molly—played by Ennae McKnight, about her own issues as a young artist and person. The concept at hand is bold and hilarious, with plenty of opportunity for comedic chaos and friction between levels of reality.
Unfortunately, though the concept holds potential, it struggles to assert or articulate itself consistently. As the play centres on a Fringe performance gone awry, the production hinges upon meta-theatricality and the audience’s blurred role and relationship to the chaos descending upon the stage.
Yet, this narrative framework is ill-defined and largely unconsidered, wielded and ignored somewhat at random and somewhat relative to narrative convenience, resulting in a confused and ineffective foundation.
The most anchored moments of the show are Hourston’s character studies of Margaret who boldly rejects the labels history has given her – girl-boss, she-wolf – to remind the characters and the audience that she is – and was – just a woman, not an emblem or an icon.
However, these moments are few and far between, and the majority of the show is an unraveling series of threads of personal drama and political arguments. These add complexity to the tapestry of world-building, but lack thematic relationships and narrative impact, making them hard to grasp.
serviceable
Unfortunately, this hard-to-graspness is exacerbated by poor line delivery. Anna McDonald’s direction lacks care and clarity and the performance reads as underrehearsed, as the actors uncomfortably stumble through their lines – unnervingly frequently for even an opening performance – and struggle with their diction to the degree of causing major plot points to be left unheard.
The design and tech elements are amateurish but serviceable. Oli Jefferson’s costume design is effectively simple. The costume of the Diva (Tony Bittner), which is slowly unveiled over the course of the performance, is a standout feature. The tech is minimal, run by Lily Murphy, which mostly works as necessarily, though the timing of the cues lacked synchronicity with performance, which may be strengthened throughout the run.
Overall, the flow of the story at hand is textually chaotic and directionally unguided. Without a cohesive set of themes to carry the characters through the complex plot, the story flounders. And without a strong tether to the meta-theatrical framework, that story has very little to stand on. As a result, the actors, and the most important role in the show – the audience – are utterly unmoored.
Hopefully the show will find some footing and gain some polish over the run, as there is room for some of these elements to improve with practice. But this production can only bloom so much without a proper set of roots.
Running time: 50 minutes (no interval).
Paradise in the Vault (The Vault), 11 Merchant Street EH1 2QD (Venue 29).
Saturday 8 – Saturday 15 August 2026.
Daily: 10.20pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Pasuz Productions website: www.pasuzproductions.co.uk
Facebook: @pasuz.productions
Instagram: @pasuzproductions
TikTok: @pasuzproductions
ENDS
