The Traitor's Wife

What a show ! Perhaps too fast-paced ; brushing over so many years within two hours of shows make it hard to really get attached to the characters (I didn't even see them get in a relationship, which is definitely the part that should have been the most important, because you want to believe in them as a couple in order to understand their dynamic) but regardless, what a success ! Amazing original songs, please release them online so I can listen to them on repeat (especially the one that goes 'don't kiss me goodbye', I'm obsessed !). Shoutout to the actor of the (mostly drunk) friend, he was great.

Captivating, newly composed musical. Well done to composer, John, for bringing his 11th original musical to the Fringe. Blockbuster followed blockbuster with complex melodies enthusiasticly performed by a young cast.

“The Traitor’s Wife”
From 1939 until his defection in 1951, British diplomat Donald Maclean passed on to the Soviet Union many damaging documents during and after WWII, including details of the atomic, Manhattan Project. Early on, his American, socialite wife, Melinda, discovered his double life and was even complicit in some undercover activity. While Donald is still considered one of the West’s greatest traitors who got away, Melinda somehow was never suspected.

Shrewsbury School returns to the Fringe for the thirtieth year with yet another world premiere musical, this year’s being the intriguing, noir-and-spy-embedded “The Traitor’s Wife” by Helen Brown and John Moore. With a richly voiced, choreography-talented cast of twenty-five and a rousing band of eight, the musical is nothing short of truly professional. That is especially true with the catch-your-breath clarity of lead actress Hattie Atwood as Helen; with incredibly paced and astutely blocked direction by Helen Brown; and by a cast costumed in the ‘40s styles of London”s upper crust, Moscow”s comrades, and Washington’s government elites. The music and the dances smack of the era and are delivered with flair. In the end, we as audience are thoroughly entertained as well as educated about a true tale of espionage we probably did not know.
Rating: 5 E

Phenomenal. The best show I've seen at the Fringe and the highlight of my week.
John Moore continues to be the most competent genius in the music industry today, as well as the most likeable. Subsequently, Helen Brown remains a deeply intelligent, poignant and nuanced lyricist with an admirable and emotionally effective focus on one of history's more obscure figures. In another universe, the combo of Brown/Moore would rival the likes of Kander/Ebb, Bernstein/Sondheim or Lloyd-Webber/Rice.
Also, the young cast is more professional seeming than most actual professionals I've seen. In particular, Billy Gardiner (who plays Guy Burgess) is close to stealing the show entirely, delving from Uncle Monty reincarnate to a raw and tragic soul.
However, despite a very impressive array of performances across the board, this entire show undeniably belongs to Hattie Attwood. A serious talent, she is so unbelievably good here that it's honestly worth watching this for her performance alone.
Out of five stars, I give this six.

I saw this show earlier in the week and it has remained with me ever since. The songs have remained resolutely stuck in my head, with snippets of the lyrics coming back to me in unexpected places. However, the most important thing I have realised, having seen a variety of student, amateur and professional shows over the week, is the sheer talent and creativity of this company. They may be young, but they can stand alongside some of the biggest names on the Fringe this year.

Wow! A whirlwind of a show from start to finish, showcasing the talent of this impressive young cast, show tunes worthy of the West End, and pacy lyrics, telling a little known tale from a new perspective.The staggering, brooding, drunkard, with a ‘Buble-esq’ voice, sings poignantly about “the silent humiliation of a clown”. This is contrasted with the controlled and polished grey men, in the delightful and humorous “People like us”, that had Python overtones. The whirling, energetic, Russian inspired dance was a highlight, showing off not only the singing but the dance talent of the cast, with some individual standout performers.Loved it!

Wonderful show with beautiful songs and dancing. All the actors are very proficient and it is very impressive to see such young actors with so much talent and professionalism.

The Cambridge Spies have inspired a vast array of plays, films and TV series, from Julian Mitchell’s ‘Another Country to Alan Bennet’s ‘Single Spies’. They even crop up in ‘The Crown’, when HM suspects Harold Wilson of being the mole in the government, only to discover that it’s actually her pet art historian, Sir Anthony Blunt.

‘The Traitor’s Wife’ takes an intriguing approach to the story of these left-wing aristocrats, centring the narrative on Melinda Marling, the American socialite who marries the least well-known but most damaging of the Cambridge Spies, Donald Maclean.

It’s not an obvious subject for a musical, but thanks to the brilliant writing of Helen Brown and John Moore, it succeeds triumphantly.

Its success is due in large part to the talent and chemistry of the two leads; Hattie Attwood gives a powerhouse performance as Melinda, whilst the undeniably ‘dishy’ Kit Smith portrays a man wrestling with his demons. The third wheel in their relationship is Maclean’s best friend – and perhaps lover – Guy Burgess. Burgess is played here by Billy Gardiner, a young actor with a truly magnificent voice which is showcased in two showstopping numbers. (Never before have I heard a love song to the writing of Jane Austen, but it works!)

The ensemble cast bring fantastic energy and enthusiasm to the stage, particularly in the set-piece dance numbers. The choreography references the period cleverly throughout, and there are superb individual dancers within the company.

I understand that this show is only running this week, so I would urge you to catch it while you can!

Absolutely astounding show, fiercely acted by young actors! Stumbled accross it after being given a flyer on the mile and it really isn't one to miss!
Talented singing, dancing and acting telling the a little know WW2 story of love and mystery, I found it completely captivating. All songs sung by Hattie Atwood (Melinda Mclean) and Billy Gardiner (Guy Burgess) were beautiful and completely encapsulated the moment and meaning - superbly written by Helen Brown! My favourite moments  were performed however by the triumvirate of government aristocrats (Massimo Wyatt, Will O'Hagan and Henry Clark) who possess great humor and dance skills (if a rather terrifying somersault from one).
An unexpected gem and my favourite show of the fringe so far - a 10/10 show!

MY. MIND. IS. BLOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVED this show! Will be back tomorrow!

My favourite show this week! Am going to be humming those tunes for a long time!

I confess that I was concerned as to how this show was going to work. A 90 minute musical about someone who little is known about seemed like it was going to be something of a stretch. I need not have worried. Thanks to the excellent writing of Helen Brown and John Moore the world of Melinda Maclean was brought fully to life before us.

Hattie Attwood as Melinda was wonderful, running the full gamut of emotions as she demonstrated the love that Melinda had for, and frustrations that she had with, her treacherous husband Donald. Her soaring voice enabled her to carry a number of songs which stretched her range to the full.

Opposite her, Kit Smith was a determined and troubled Donald, a man willing to betray his country but concerned for his family. It is a difficult part to play, being the most well-known character and yet not being the focus of attention, but he plays it well. His solo parts have just the right mixture of committed rebellion and desperate affection and you get a true sense of what Maclean the man must've been feeling at the time. There are also fine cameos from Poppy Godsal, Hettie Smith and Oscar Niblett as the spy Kitty Harris, Melinda's somewhat more conventional sister Harriet, and the infamous Kim Philby.

The other real star of the show was Billy Gardiner, whose portrayal of the bathetic alcoholic Guy Burgess left no stone unturned. In words, actions and song he pulled off a difficult role with panache. If we do not see him as Grantaire in Les Miserables at some time in the future I shall be very surprised.

The show is almost entirely sung-through, no mean achievement with such a young cast. Along the way there are some great solo numbers, wonderful ensemble pieces and fantastic choreography which often features the heads of MI5 and MI6 alongside the British Ambassador to Paris.

If I have one small quibble it is that there are many characters named in the programme, but so few of them are introduced. Sir Anthony Eden, for example, is never mentioned by name. Nor are the Maclean children, or even Pippa Lawton-Smiths crusading journalist Joan Lewis, despite her magnificent solo number. It would have been helpful to 'meet' them properly.

This show has everything that a good musical needs - love, conflict, betrayal, great music and a story that needs to be told. Unlike British Intelligence, you must not miss The Traitor's Wife.

I’m a musicals superfan and my dad is a Cold War military history nerd, so there aren’t many shows that appeal to both of us. The Traitor’s Wife is in the sweet spot: it is a fascinating insight into a little-known historical figure, accompanied with banging tunes and dance moves. There are fantastic performances from Kit Smith and Hattie Attwood as the eponymous traitor and his missus, but the supporting roles are also really impressive. On the way out, I was humming the tunes and my dad was pontificating on the impact of the Cambridge spies on post-war national morale, so we were both happy.

I was handed a flyer on the Royal Mile, so it was a spur of the moment decision to go. The show is brilliant and is worthy of the West End. Great songs, story and performances from a very young but immensely talented cast. Catch it while you can!

Great show with mega-talented young performers! My musicals-obsessed teenager and I both loved it!

The colourful artwork on the glamous poster attracted me the story intrigued me.
Strong singing leads, excellent characterisation from the cast, high kicking dance only restrained by the limitations of space which they handled very well. As a dress designer I was impressed by several of the lead costumes
Very well done! Go see it!!!

Some of the most successful biographical musicals seem like a really hard sell on paper. Hamilton: the founding father everyone forgot about. Evita: the wife of an unpleasant Latin American dictator. Melinda Maclean, similarly, seems an unlikely protagonist. The wife of one of the most damaging Cold War spies, she is so little known she doesn’t even merit her own Wikipedia page. However, in the hands of Helen Brown and John Moore, she becomes a fascinating, multi-faceted character who is more than worthy of her own narrative.
The show follows Melinda from her first meeting with Donald Maclean in the early days of the Second World War to her ultimate defection to Moscow in the 1950s. We see her develop from a spoilt socialite, who only cares about flirting and fashion, to a radicalised communist agent.
The show is full of (male) characters we have met before – Maclean himself, charismatically played by Kit Smith, his partner-in-crime Guy Burgess, the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, and a marvellously pompous triumvirate of grey men (Henry Clark, Massimo Wyatt and Will O’Hagan.) However, the genius of the writing is the way that it tells the story from the female perspective: not only that of Melinda, but of Maclean’s handler/girlfriend Kitty Harris and the female journalist who broke the story of Maclean’s treachery.
The show hangs on its central performance, and Hattie Attwood blows the audience away with her outstanding vocals. She is ably supported by a strong ensemble cast: particular highlights were Hettie Smith, Poppy Godsal and Billy Gardiner. If I had a criticism, it would be that the storytelling proceeds at a breakneck pace and I would have liked to see the development of the relationship between Melinda and Donald – but the show packs a huge amount of history into ninety minutes!

John Moore’s score is absolute genius – there are echoes of 1940s Big Band, Russian folksongs, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov and more, but it never descends into pastiche. Matched with Helen Brown’s razor-sharp, witty lyrics, this is the most intelligent musical I have seen for a long time. It probably helps if you know something about the Cambridge Spies – my companion needed convincing that the show is based on a true story – but it’s a compelling narrative nonetheless. The stand-out performance is Billy Gardiner as Guy Burgess, whose astonishing voice is showcased in a virtuoso ballad towards the end of the performance.

I came across this show by accident and I’m so glad I did! The performances are all fantastic, so much so that it’s hard to believe they are all still at school. I particularly loved Hattie Attwood as Melinda and Billy Gardiner as Guy Burgess.