Flora Gosling
- Sep 9
- 2 min read

Review: A Jaffa Cake Musical (Pleasance Courtyard)

A jelly-filled musical treat

There’s a time and a place for a silly musical – in the afternoon at the Fringe. Light-hearted musicals are often held in disdain when staged in the West End, just look at The Great British Bake Off: The Musical. Perhaps it is because tickets are too expensive and stages too scarce to waste on something that isn’t serious. But at the Fringe, for just an hour of your time and fifteen quid a ticket, what the people want is something just a bit wacky. This year Gigglemug, whose previous work includes the hilariously unsolicited Timpson: The Musical, have brought A Jaffa Cake Musical, about the notorious 1991 tribunal that decided whether the sweet treats were, legally, a cake or a biscuit.

A court makes a great stage for some musical sparring, so most numbers are about each argument for and against (you wouldn’t dunk a jaffa cake, does that mean it's a cake?). As well as being bouncy and creatively choreographed, they do justice to an audience who are here for a good time but are still invested in the case. McVities are presented as a humble, snivelling baker just trying to stand up against the “Tax Man”, a hilarious devil figure with a mob-like swagger. Preposterous as it is to depict a multi-million-pound company as an underdog, it is all in the name of good theatre – fulfilling a reliable formula with good songs and a thoroughly British setting.

The star of the performance is easily Sabrina Messer, who dances, raps, sings opera and does the splits as determined prosecutor Katherine. By comparison, Sam Cochrane (who also writes and directs) struggles to keep up as defence lawyer Kevin. In an effort to create tension his character is unexpectedly inept and unprepared, and Cochrane’s performance isn’t likeable enough to compensate for his character’s flaws. Even so, when he wins and prepares for his next battle with Katherine (are pringles potato crisps?) the whole production feels thoroughly self-knowing and worthwhile. Like the cake in question, A Jaffa Cake Musical isn’t a tough cookie, but a treat nonetheless. Four stars.