SHANTIFY - Palais Du Variété (20/08/25)

Experience sea shanties like never before with some of the best vocalists you'll hear at the fringe

After a critically acclaimed sellout run last year, the sea shanty boys are back at the Edinburgh, and better than ever. Fresh with new members and a reshuffled playlist of "shantified" songs, allow these rugged gentlemen with the voices of angels take you on a nautical journey of self discovery, complete with very real, humble and achingly human stories being shared, all to a musical backdrop of everything from pop, heavy metal, rock and musical theatre among other genres, all given a positively nautical treatment. You never knew that you needed a group of six burly blokes singing a Spice Girls themed sea shanty until now.

The company of Shantify (credit: Michael Aiden)

Conceived by Jo Parsons, and with a book by Emily Wood, the basic concept of "Shantify" is a group of six men, living in a tight knit fishing town, telling stories and sharing their own individual and collective experiences, all to a sea-shanty-soaked soundtrack of a fabulous mix of songs from all corners of the musical spectrum. One minute it's Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", the next we're rocking out to AC/DC, and we even have a delightful tribute to David Hein and Irene Sankoff musical "Come From Away"; and then there are the occasional original shanties such as "Blow the Man Down" and "Blow High, Blow Low, A-Whaling We Will Go". Whatever your preferred musical palate, there is bound to be something that will tickle your fancy.

It feels very much like a "Choir of Man" meets "Fisherman's Friends" meets "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" mix of sounds and aesthetics, yet has its own distinctive personality, and sense of humanity that is intoxicating, the six men on stage present the most vulnerable sides of themselves, doing so with full conviction and a great deal of sincerity. On top of this though, we are treated to some of the best vocals you will perhaps hear all year, as they all get individual chances to show what they can do, but their close harmonies and ensemble moments send shivers down our spines.

The company of Shantify (credit: Michael Aiden)

Like last year, the Shantify guys are a terrific mix of west end performers, truly some of the best of the best at this year's festival. Their energy, chemistry and artistry are unmatched, and the amount of fun they bring to proceedings is infectious, the audience are fully on their side from the first notes sung. This kind of people-focussed, localised character study is a formula that has been done before, but clearly one that works well, and seeing the audience reaction to these marvellous singers and storytellers is all one needs to know to tell that Shantify is a sure fire hit, and I just hope we see them sailing out to sea again before too long.

★★★★☆

"Shantify" played at the Edinburgh Fringe in both 2024 and 2025.

{PR/Gifted ticket}