10/08/25

Pleasance Courtyard (Forth), Edinburgh

Every year, the Fringe manages to boast an improbably-titled musical with broad audience appeal. In 2024, Gigglemug Theatre’s A Jaffa Cake Musical was a huge hit but, for reasons too complicated to explain, we didn’t manage to see it. So when it was announced that it would return for one final run, we decided we really should catch up with it. Tickets were duly arranged and we set off with high expectations.

But on the fateful day in question, Storm Floris decided to strut its stuff, managing to shut down the entire Pleasance Courtyard. Some frantic rescheduling ensued – a mere hiccup for us but no doubt a massive pain in the backside for all the productions affected. Finally, several days later, here we sit in the sold-out Forth and the show begins.

You might think, with that seemingly random title, that this is simply a silly fantasia, conjured up for everyone’s entertainment. But Sam Cochrane’s zany creation is loosely based on fact – the 1991 court case that determined the most important question of all: whether a Jaffa Cake is actually a cake… or a biscuit. Let’s face it, we’ve all asked ourselves the same thing at some point in our lives. And there was a lot on money riding on the outcome, since cakes (a necessity, apparently) are not subject to VAT while biscuits (a mere frivolity) are. Go figure.

Rookie barrister Kevin (Cochrane) lands his first big trial and, wouldn’t you know it, he is to defend Jake (Harry Miller), the Godlike genius who actually invented Jaffa Cakes, from the depredations of the villainous Tax Man (Katie Pritchard, embodying a character that pretty much everyone can hiss at). Opposing Kevin will be confident young barrister, Catherine (Sabrina Messer), who has a winning way with the old dance moves and has yet to lose a case. Meanwhile, the stern Judge (Alex Prescot) plays the keyboards while he presides, backed by bass and drums. (I did say it was loosely based on fact.)

Fuelled by its own sheer exuberance and gifted with a collection of witty songs, arranged by Rob Gathercole, A Jaffa Cake Musical is a delicious concoction (much like its inspiration) that hooks its audience, much like the tantalising taste of that smashing orangey bit.

There’s plenty to admire here, not least the antics of the seven-strong cast – bowler hats off to Pritchard in particular, who is a quadruple threat: singing, dancing, playing the saxophone and swapping roles with absolute assurance. The staging is simple but effective, everything nicely colour-coded in distinctive shades of orange and chocolate brown, and one song in particular has such a catchy hook you’ll almost certainly leave the building humming it aloud. (I know I do.) Ali James directs with aplomb and a jolly good time is had by all.

Lights down. Applause.

Which only leaves me to answer that all-important question: is it a cake or a biscuit? Well, why not cut along to the Pleasance (weather permitting) and judge for yourselves?

4 stars

Philip Caveney