Theatre review: The Ugly Sisters, Northern Stage at St Stephen’s (Venue 73), Edinburgh

THEY TAKE NO prisoners, Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen of RashDash Theatre; their shows are loud, brash, often brilliantly-coloured, and fuelled by what they call a “strong, young female identity” – which means that they are often very angry indeed.

The Ugly Sisters

Northern Stage at St Stephen’s (Venue 73)

Star rating; * * * *

Their latest show is a hallucinatory rock-opera take on the Cinderella story, in which Greenland and Goalen play the two ugly sisters, wrenched from their peaceful lives as the beloved daughters of a hard-working single mum when she marries into wealth and celebrity, and introduces them to their new stepsister.

We don’t get to meet Cinderella, but she seems to be a simpering type, who has no trouble winning the hand of the prince, along with global fame and adoration.

Meanwhile, the Uglies are treading the uncomfortable byways of B-list celebrity, hanging around in some duff Find-Me-A-Princess reality show, and learning the hard way that maintaining the look even of a joke celebrity entails huge amounts of effort and maintenance. Whether all of this was inspired by the remarkable appearance of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in bizarre hats, at the wedding of Prince William and his super-sweet Kate, is hard to say.

What I do know, though, is that this show is presented with fierce energy and pizzazz, that it contains three or four terrific songs – co-created with gifted Brighton backing band Not Now Bernard – and that the amazing Ms Greenland sings better, ever time she appears on stage. Which is surely enough to be going on with.

• Until tomorrow, 10pm.