Review: The Scot and the Showgirl at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Playbill becomes fringe theatre

Review: The Scotsman and the Showgirl at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

This Fringe show gives you insight into OG’s relationship Les Miz Star Frances Ruffelle and husband Norman Bowman, with all the pros and cons.

Frances Ruffelle and Norman Bowman
Heather Gershonowitz

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world with over 3,700 shows. This year Playbill is in town for the festival and we’re taking you along. Follow as we cover every single aspect of the Fringe, also known as our real Brigadier General!

As part of our coverage of the Edinburgh Fringe, Playbill reviews plenty of shows—and we’ll let you know what we think. Consider these reviews a friendly, opinionated guide to choosing a show at the festival.

Frances Ruffelle (the Tony-winning original Eponine in The Misérables in London’s West End and on Broadway) and her husband, also a British stage star, Norman Bowman, are in love. Very in love. As cheesy as it may sound, seeing them perform together in their new cabaret show The Scotsman and the Showgirl at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is to experience a very real, very tangible chemistry. All of which might make you roll your eyes if they weren’t so crazy – and blatantly so.

You might have to be a little crazy to be as vulnerable as Ruffelle and Bowman are in this new outing, but luckily for the audience, it pays off. Their silly, unsparing sensitivity is incredibly charming and ultimately The Scotsman and the Showgirl a distinct aura of genuine authenticity. It’s hard not to agree with her effusive affection, especially because it’s so genuine.

The couple has developed this new cabaret act to take the audience “from Brigadier General to Broadway, from Scotland to Sondheim.” Bowman, if you couldn’t tell from the title, is Scottish and performs the entire show in a kilt. The titular showgirl is, of course, Ruffelle. But the duo have had an extensive career in musical theater. That means we have a song list that includes traditional Scottish tunes like “Donald, Where’s Your Troosers” (changed here to “Beausy,” a nickname for Bowman) and “Pencil Full of Lead,” along with show tune favorites like “It’s Almost Like Being in Love” by Brigadier General (I guess this could almost fall into both categories) and “One of a Kind” by Applause. The arrangements are all fantastic too, led by music director and arranger Ryan McKenzie on piano (additional arrangements are by David Barber) along with cellist Kate Shortt and drummer Nick Anderson.

The couple’s mashup of “The Little Things You Do Together” from Pursue and “Country House”, a song written for the first London production of Follies. The match is so perfect that you wonder why you don’t see it more often.

These songs take us through the couple’s love story, from a meet-cute in a London tube station, to a break-up due to Ruffelle’s late nights with male friends (no details are given as to what these entailed), to a happy and well-deserved second try – which they are reportedly still going on. I’m not entirely sure what is fact or fiction here. Previous marriages involving either of them children are not mentioned, and from what I can tell, their relationship is not exactly a decades-long affair. Did this all happen in record time, or have they dramatized and re-framed their love life to revolve exclusively around their current partners?

Either way, it’s admirable how honest they are about themselves. Beyond their visible chemistry, this element really makes you believe that their love runs deep, that each loves the other for who they are deep down inside. That’s something we should all strive for, and it’s really charming, even inspiring, to see it play out. Again, credit goes to director Paul Baker. The narrative is surprisingly clear and strong for a cabaret act, and the expert pacing keeps you hooked to the end.

Ultimately, The Scotsman and the Showgirl features two very talented artists at the peak of their powers singing a superb setlist. Bowman shines with some silly comedy moments, notably a rousing rendition of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” He also delivers a heartfelt, gender-swapped version of “Happy to Keep Her Dinner Warm” by How to do it. Ruffelle proves her status as a musical legend with her rousing rock song, one of those unique voices that just doesn’t sound like anyone else in the world. Don’t worry, they didn’t squeeze their trademark “On My Own” into the breakup part of the narration – but Ruffelle gives it to us anyway in the show’s encore, practically proving why the performance was Tony-winning.

I was thoroughly entertained after this performance and learned that Ruffelle and Bowman would probably be a huge bundle of energy if you sat next to them at a dinner party – but that’s not meant in a derogatory way. I would be happy to get the seat.

The Scotsman and the Showgirl plays at Pleasance’s Queen Dome through August 26 (although the show also played on the Playbill FringeShip). Tickets are available Here. Check out photos from the show below.

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