Shamilton! - Fringe Review

Thomas Levi
Aug 6
2 min read

Updated: Aug 7

★★★★★

Shamilton! is one of the most exhilarating improv shows at this year's Fringe. This improvised musical doesn't simply borrow the format of Hamilton; it dismantles it, celebrates it and rebuilds it from scratch every single night. The result is an extraordinary display of musical improvisation that leaves you wondering how on earth the cast made it all up.

Each performance begins with audience suggestions for the subject of the evening's musical before the crowd votes for their favourite. Additional facts are gathered, the pianist and drummer start playing, and within seconds an entirely original hip-hop musical begins to unfold. Tonight the audience chose Genghis Khan, launching an increasingly ridiculous epic involving processed meat, an army of children, Jesus Christ, and Timothy Chalamet the horse capable of influencing biblical history. The story becomes gloriously unhinged, yet somehow still arrives at a satisfying conclusion that feels complete.

This is first-rate musical improvisation, with lightning-fast freestyle rap, tightly constructed scenes and performers who instinctively know when to lead and when to support. It is a loving parody of Hamilton, gleefully aping iconic moments and musical motifs from Lin-Manuel Miranda's masterpiece. Numbers inspired by songs such as Alexander Hamilton, Wait for It and Burn found their way into this new masterpiece without feeling like a cheap shoe-horned gag.

The show works because the ensemble trust one another completely. Every improvised offer is accepted, developed and woven into the wider narrative, no matter how absurd it initially appears. A passing joke can become a recurring callback twenty minutes later, while the most outrageous audience suggestions are transformed into a plot point that somehow makes perfect sense within the musical's logic. Watching that collaborative instinct in action is as thrilling as any punchline.

Rap flows effortlessly, harmonies appear from nowhere, and choreography emerges organically without drawing attention to how difficult any of it actually is. Chris Grace, Lily Ludwig, Allen Lucas, Will Naameh, Raquel Palmas and Mike Poole perform with the confidence of a company that knows it can rely on one another, giving the production an infectious sense of freedom that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

Every performance is unique, making Shamilton! one of those rare Fringe shows you could happily return to again and again. If tonight's Genghis Khan musical is anything to go by, the next audience suggestion might produce something even stranger.