The Long Goodbye Bye Bye
★★★☆☆ Ludicrous
Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s (Venue 194a): Sun 17 – Sun 24 Aug 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
The Long Goodbye Bye Bye, from Pasuz Productions at Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s for the Fringe’s last week, will never win any awards for profundity. However, its willingness to be completely stupid in search of a laugh is extremely likeable.
Paul Blanchfield’s play is set up as a spoof on noir private eye stories, with PI Justin McGuffin (Blanchfield) receiving a visit from Britney Duran (Victoria Hopkins). Britney is (correctly) convinced that someone is going to kill her. She and Justin have a past, as they were once two-thirds (or is it a half?) of Europop one-hit wonders the femme Fatales.
Finn MacMillan, Stephanie Boyle, Patch Connarty and Paul Blanchfield in The Long Goodbye Bye Bye. Pic: Pasuz.
Despite how it may appear, this isn’t a musical. Which doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a musical theme, as it soon becomes clear that Blanchfield is going to cram in as many lyric references and song titles as possible in 45 minutes, in the way that football players and pundits are wont to do during tournaments.
This is far from the only light-hearted thing about a cheerfully (and utterly) daft production. Few opportunities for corny gags or deliberately over-literal prop usage are missed, in a crime story where it is clear immediately what is going on, and we just have to wait for the decidedly incompetent sleuths to catch up.
crammed with ideas
The script spins off in several directions all at once regarding detective stories, true crime podcasts and Eurovision, but this means that the running time is crammed with ideas. Just as crammed is the unforgivingly tiny acting space in a corner of a bar backroom, with the cast doing well not to keep bumping their heads on the ceiling.
Some first-night technical teething troubles meant the odd missed cue in Kit Young’s intriguing sound design, but the ten-strong cast all pull together commendably throughout.
Paul Blanchfield and Finn MacMillan in The Long Goodbye Bye Bye. Pic: Pasuz.
Having such a large ensemble in such a short show does mean that some of them have very little to do. It hardly seems necessary to have two narrators, but Tony Bittner-Collins’s hard-bitten noir figure and Louise Carcone’s true crime correspondent are both great fun.
Blanchfield’s somewhat confused PI, Stephanie Boyle’s hapless podcaster, Patch Connarty’s stereotypical Scottish detective and Finn MacMillan’s stagestruck constable (with a neat sideline in impersonations) are very pleasing. Ennae McKnight’s not-so-mysterious woman with an (intentionally) wandering accent is a commendable comic performance.
a certain gravitas
Fiona Hourston’s shady informer adds a certain gravitas. Hopkins and Scott Adair-Grabbas, as Justin’s ex-bandmates, have little stage time but play their roles with commitment.
Being in an over-18s only venue maybe accounts for the odd bit of swearing in a show that otherwise has very little to frighten the horses. Indeed, its ludicrous approach is more reminiscent of children’s TV comedy than anything else, and the end result is great fun.
Running time: 45 minutes (no interval).
Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s (Band Room), 24 Frederick St, EH2 2JR. (Venue 194a).
Sunday 17 – Sunday 24 August 2025.
Daily (not Sat): 7.15pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Pasuz Productions website: www.pasuzproductions.co.uk/
Instagram: @pasuzproductions
TikTok: @pasuzproductions
Stephanie Boyle, Ennae McKnight, Fiona Hourston, Paul Blanchfield in The Long Goodbye Bye Bye. Pic: Pasuz.ENDS
