The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria

Loved the pace and humour throughout the piece. Such an interesting story that deserves a spotlight. Definitely recommend and look forward to seeing where it goes next

Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria (****)
In 1943, the king of unoccupied Bulgaria had to capitulate to Nazi pressure to deport its Jews to concentration camps in Poland. Interspersed with songs, the show portrays the efforts of the humane king to minimize, but not stop the killing of Jews. The character of the king is beautifully portrayed as good man placed in an untenable situation forced to appear antisemitic, however the actor playing his prime minister yells constantly in an ill-considered attempt to lampoon Hitler.


This is the 28th most enjoyable of the 184 shows I have seen so far at the Fringe this year. I hope to see almost 200. You may see my other three-sentence reviews, in order from most enjoyable to worst, at my non-commercial website: https://fringefan.com/

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria covers a fascinating and obscure aspect of the Second World War in a wonderfully entertaining and inventive way. As well as conventional narrative, based on the actor playing the king, the other performers provide vivid colour by playing a range of characters and instruments, accompanied by singing of what seem to be Bulgarian folk songs. There was plenty of comedy in the early stages, followed by darkness after the well meaning king made a bad decision. Although aspects of the plot and characters were difficult to follow, I was swept away from the start of what proved to be the highlight of the 30 shows I saw at the Fringe this year. Some performances were sold out, but tickets were potentially released an hour, 30 minutes and 15 minutes before the event.

Two days and 14 shows so far and this has by far been the top show and I huge hidden gem. I thought it was well crafted and imaginative for such a sensitive subject that we hardly have heard about. Humorous at times but the company had the audience on the edge of their seats and you hear a pin drop so many times. The only problem I had was one of the characters ( the insider character) I was confused several times who they were. I highly recommend and may go again.

This is a very camp retelling of how the Holocaust came about in Bulgaria during World War II, with songs and everything. And guess what? It works! The show is funny and hugely entertaining, but somehow it manages to keep your eyes on the ball at all times: the subject matter is a very serious one, and the company never makes light of it. We get all of the history, we understand the emotions and motivations of the characters, all of them being caught in extraordinary circumstances, and at the center of them all, Tsar Boris, who answered the call of history and got killed for it (no spoiler guys, it's in the title). Yes, maybe the image of Boris III is a tad brushed up, and we cannot really know the inner motivations of the character, but even so, we're not looking at unidimensional cardboard cutouts here: everyone has their shades of grey, everyone is slave to motivations and betrayals. Great story, beautifully told.

Fascinating, mostly unknown part of history performed by an excellent and versatile cast. Standing ovation was well deserved. Bravo!

Excellent show. Entertaining, informative, moving, superbly written and performed. Highly recommended.

Incredible show! The show was outstanding.
So well-written and presented! History was retold in a contemporary way, presenting in such unique way the challenges faced by the King Boris the third of our small country Bulgaria!Funny and at the same Sad. As a Bulgarian the story made me very emotional. Even before watching the show,I have asked myself the question,what would have happened to us Bulgarians if our king Boris has not died? Singing Bulgarian national anthem without accent was amazing to hear! Huge thank you and Bravo to the Out of Forest Theatre

This is that rarest of all things, an important show. Absolutely riveting. Filled with pathos, and horror, and humour. History is written by the winners, and this tells the tale of one of history's losers (the clue is rather in the title). So this is untold and unsung history, but is well worth the telling. Get a ticket. You will enjoy the show immensely, and walk out with your thoughts provoked. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Like most other reviewers, I knew nothing of the story of Boris the Third. This play reflects the difficulties faced by a country surrounded by larger warring nations. The 5 excellent actors presented the story with humour and pathos using music, folk and popular songs as well as interesting storytelling.

Sharp, funny, witty, clever, angry, brilliant piece of theatre that shines a light onto a part of history most of us will never have known. Made me laugh, made me think, made me angry. Exactly what theatre should do.

“Horrible Histories” style of writing history with humour and a story that revealed my ignorance of Boris’s role in saving the lives of 50,000 Bulgarian Jews. Such stories should be revealed and repeated by whatever means. Long live Bulgaria, ruled in the past by Ottomans, Nazis and Soviets. Brilliantly portrayed by this company of excellent actors.

Excellent from so many points of view. Who'd have thought such a riveting show could be made of this obscure (apologies, Sofia) piece of history? Or such a watchable show from such a serious subject? How do I find more shows like this?

Loved the music in this. Great story that we don't know much about. Also managed to get effective humour into an essentially tragic and moving tale.

Well written and acted - definitely worth a watch! They managed to make the serious subject matter entertaining while still being respectful.

This play definitely lives up to the expectations - having read several reviews about it.
It's fast paced with a well-written, funny script. Fave show of the Fringe so far.

My only quibble was that it started late, which meant that we had to rush to get to our next show.

I really enjoyed this show. Collaborationist regimes are painted with a very broad brush in British history textbooks (I'm a History teacher, so I should know). I didn't just leave more informed. I left more willing to think about the struggles and nuances of leading a non-global power in a world at war.

I think this makes a really excellent complement to the classic pre-WW2 film, 'La Grande Illusion'. Boris is, fundamentally, a king in a world that doesn't need kingship. He is a monarch in a world divided between democrats and autocrats, but done with aristocrats. He cannot 'do the right thing', he can only delay the inevitable.

It seemed a bit odd to treat such a serious subject with humour, but rather like “Doctor Strangelove” it would be hard to take in such a story as a purely historical exposition. As it was the humour underlined the subject matter brilliantly. We left thinking this was one of the best shows we’ve seen at the fringe this or any other year

Go see this show! Excellent!

Absolutely brilliant. Immensely talented cast have crafted a humorous, intelligent, complex story of a small but (especially for those directly impacted) piece of WWII history. Blending comedy, music, and an immensely conflicted but likeable Boris they weave the story of a man with good intentions thrust into an impossible situation. Highly recommended.

My personal favourite this year, superbly written and performed and also informative!

Loved this show. Only our second day at the Fringe but this may well turn out to be the best this year. It might well be a complicated story with horrifyingly dark undertones but it is told with clarity and humour and vast amounts of energy. It is one of those stories you immediately want to know more about and that is always a sign of a great show. Five excellent actors (and musicians) with loads of talent. So professional.

★★★★★ Go NOW, thank later!

A story of a perfectly imperfect Boris.

THE GOOD
* Masterfully Written. A brilliant balance between intensity and humour that makes learning history delightful.
* Comedic Genius. Serious topics like fascism made funny.
* Live Accompaniment. An evocative soundscape that carries the weight of WWII on the shoulders of comedy.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
* Pace Inconsistency. Some scenes, notably with the Jewish musician, lacked the consistent momentum enjoyed elsewhere.

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This was so good. Funny and entertaining. Well worth a visit

Very well acted and written. Complexities of this part of history in WW2 were very well crafted for the audience to understand. Recommend to any history or theatre lover!

Absolutely extraordinary show that I even saw it twice! It is incredible writing and the performances produced are fantastic. Would 100% recommend and would watch over and over again if I could. :)

A fascinating piece of forgotten history beautifully told with just the right balance of humour and drama. As all good theatre should it makes you laugh and it makes you think. A real highlight of this year's Fringe.

Really enjoyable, funny and thought-provoking show, wonderful acting and musicianship. The plot could have done with a bit more development/intrigue (maybe it was trying to stick too closely to what is historically known) but the execution was flawless.

My favourite production at this year's fringe. It walks a tight line between humour and tragedy and does it brilliantly. Wonderful cast, script and concept - and I learnt a great deal about a part of World War II that I previously knew nothing about. Definitely one to watch!

Perhaps uncommonly for the intended audience, we had long heard about Boris III, and from someone who knew him well. The story that is told here is faithful to all that we understood regarding Bulgaria's refusal to deport its Jewish citizens during World War II. The play does an extraordinary job of revealing the complex forces at work while keeping the audience riveted. The small cast is immensely talented, both as actors and musicians, playing a varied, beautiful, and at times moving set of numbers. Highly recommended!

This has been the absolute highlight of my Fringe so far. I went because my partner is Bulgarian and I have an interest in WW2 history. I didn't expect to be so wildly entertained and swept with emotions! I'm impressed by the amount of research they did for the play. Highly recommended and I will want to see every show they put on in the future. The performers have immense amount of talent and professionalism.

Five very talented performers, four of them playing multiple roles and musical instruments too, tread a fine line between comedy and tragedy, mining humour, more or less black as appropriate, from likely and unlikely details of a complex and little-known story populated by a flawed hero, flawed villains, flawed victims and all manner of jobsworths. Who can blame them for a dig or two at similar characters closer to home, sometimes similarly named, along the way?

An absolutely stunning show blending detailed historical storytelling with humour and harmonies. I laughed and was sucker punched with emotions.