In a suburban enclave of East London, September is fringe theatre season. The Wanstead Fringe promises ‘a magnificent banquet of entertainment prepared for your cultural pleasure’ – and that tagline certainly rings true when it comes to Buzzfest, the one-of-a-kind music festival theatre experience presented by The Baloney Theatre Company, written and directed by Marissa Landy.
It’s a damp autumn evening as we gather at The Wanstead Curtain, a quaint niche fringe theatre adjacent to a methodist church, in the middle of Snaresbrook. Our spirits are instantly warmed -The Wanstead Curtain is a charming theatre experience, from the cosy bar that boasts a churning popcorn machine, to the intimate auditorium itself bedecked with fairy lights. There are tables along the back of the auditorium showing off festival items, sponsored by The Samaritans – one of the Buzzfest missions is to raise public awareness about all things festival safety. It is a super impressive feat that The Baloney Theatre Company have also developed ‘The Get Fest Ready Book,’ an e-book of festival safety must-knows covering topics from alcohol safety to mental health support, and guidance against harassment / violence at festivals, accessible via a QR code throughout the venue.
Buzzfest is a dark comedy that thrives on absurdity – drinking games, the ever-booming din of eclectic music, a scene involving out-of-date Viagra, heavy relationship conversations in tents and depictions of the debauchery that many festival-goers can relate to. However, beneath the chaos lies a more poignant exploration – the unravelling scenes act as a backdrop to showcase themes of male mental health, and the struggles many young people face as they take their first right-of-passage steps into adulthood. The mix of live theatre blended with filmed sequences on a screen above the stage is a clever mechanism to give us as the audience the sense that we are all at the festival together (the filmed sequences were clearly shot during a real festival during the summer, which is another nod to the impressive and meticulous preparation The Baloney Theatre Company have clearly poured into this passion project).
Georgia Dye brings warmth and precision to the character of Daisy – her youthful insecurities make us warm to her as she tries to navigate relationship issues with Jason, artfully played by Tafadzwa Phillip Madubeko – a cool, grounded persona who just wants to enjoy the festival with his mates, but clearly needs to also balance his relationship! Alistair Rowley is a real ‘hoot’ as Marvin – he is charismatic, effervescent and hilarious, whilst his fiancée Lisa just tries to keep him from ricocheting off the walls. Marnie Yule as Lisa is a playful, strong character who adds plenty of texture to the cast dynamic, and Tom Fesby’s performance gives the character of Jordan a nuanced edge – sometimes he’s one of the lads, sometimes he shows he has plenty of underlying heart. To complete the gang, CJ as Joe is inquisitive, melancholy and introverted, until the end of the second act when we are shown exactly why he is all these things.
Buzzfest manages to shift tone, without ever losing momentum – one moment, we’re laughing at the familiar awkwardness of drunken bonding rituals we’ve all been through at one point or another, and the next, we’re reminded of the very real silence men often feel forced into, when it comes to topics around mental health. The performance is raw and visually inventive, and proves that theatre can be both hilariously unhinged and in moments, quietly poignant.
We left the Wanstead Curtain having been taken on a rollercoaster of emotions, whilst also learning more about festival safety, and perhaps feeling as though we’d survived a festival hangover all of our own, all whilst never leaving this quaint little pocket of East London. Buzzfest runs until 21st September – catch it before the lights go down on the festival field!
Review by Louise Amelia Czupich
Daisy and Jason are going to their first festival together with their eccentric group of friends. They have been prepping for this for months but little do they know that a festival is the perfect place to reveal your true self. With endless drinking games, wild festival traditions and new friends to meet, Buzzfest is the ultimate relationship test!
Cast: Alistair Rowley, Tafadzwa Phillip Madubeko, Georgia Dye, Marnie Yule, Joshua Dowden
Written and directed by Marissa Landy
Produced by The Project People
Assistant director: Adam Pardy
BUZZFEST
Wanstead Curtain
16 to 21 September 2025
