How To Win Against History - Udderbelly George Square Gardens - Edinburgh Fringe Review

Henry Cyril Paget, the long forgotten fifth Marquess of Anglesey, written out of history after he died aged just 29 in the 1850s having spent all of his estate’s money staging extravagant plays. His family destroyed any evidence of him, pretended he didn’t exist to bring back their good name, but this production ‘How To Win Against History’ brings Paget’s story back to life with oodles of glitz, glamour and sparkle.

Returning to the fringe after premiering back in 2016, we see the show’s writer Seiriol Davies as the eccentric Henry, the man who never fit into the family ideal. He didn’t have a good experience at Eton, marriage didn’t suit him, and for him, boots and feathers didn’t refer to military uniform, but to fabulous dresses and frilly head dresses. He dreamt of stardom and performance, even converting the family chapel into a theatre. Davies shines in this role, full of energy and life, bouncing around the stage as Henry thrives on the excitement, always seeing the positive side of any situation. He balances this perfectly with the darker moments, the harsh realities of the life he chose whilst being plagued with ongoing health issues that he continuedly tries to brush aside.

Alongside Davies, Matthew Blake plays a plethora of different characters, from a strict headmaster and the short lived wife in what appears to be a marriage of convenience to a must know all newspaper reporter. But as Alexander Keith, the ‘proper actor’ who perhaps had one of the biggest influences in Paget’s life, Blake truly impresses. The best friend, the one constant, the cheerleader, the voice of reason, he does it all. With boundless energy and a natural flair for comedy, Blake has a brilliant rapport with the audience with just a look enough to raise laughter.

Whilst this could easily be seen as a two hander production, Davies and Blake are wonderfully accompanied and supported by Dylan Townley on keyboard, Harry Miller on Drums and Mark Harrison, Rhiannon Harrison and Flick Isaac-Chilton in the Brass Section. The music itself is, for the most part, incredibly upbeat, utilising multiple patter songs in true music hall style that matches the shows time period. It is high energy, whilst slower moments pinpoint those drops of doubt or worry in Paget’s head wonderfully. And throughout, rather cleverly, the band themselves are brought flying into the action, becoming the centre of witty jokes on many occasion as the characters directly interact with the players. 

With a 90 minute running time, quite generous for a Fringe show, ‘How to Win Against History’ is given a fair amount of space to breath and for audiences to get to know the characters. Nevertheless, Henry had such an interesting story, a ‘be who you wanna be’, ‘why fit in when you can stand out’, ‘loud and proud’ tale, I feel that there is room for expansion here. Side characters that we are only given fleeting glances off could be built upon and we could truly see Henry’s story in all its shining glory.

Running straight after ‘Pop Off Michelangelo’ another story that celebrates being yourself, Underbelly’s famous purple cow has become a home for embracing your true self, living life to the full and LGBTQ+ pride this Fringe season, and that is just wonderful.