Springer success inspires wave of musical satire at Edinburgh

Those gathering in the teeming pubs and half-empty review theatres in Edinbugh this week agreed that Jerry Springer has bequeathed to the world an unexpected cultural legacy. The massive success of the controversial opera based on the life of the talk show host has prompted a renaissance in musical satire at this year's Fringe, with shows drawing on an eclectic range of subjects for their inspiration.

Most popular as a theme is the rise and fall of Tony Blair. Two musicals based on the Downing Street years of the outgoing Prime Minister - Tony! The Blair Musical and Tony Blair - The Musical - will be playing at theatres just a few hundred yards from each other over the coming weeks.

Other hangovers of the Blair era are also being turned into song and dance acts. There is Chav: It's a Musical Innit - the thoughts of three BNP members as sung by the Crowded Logic Theatre Company - and ASBO! The Musical, billed as one modern young man's search for the "ultimate recognition".

More controversially, Jihad: The Musical, satirising the ambitions of a young suicide bomber with songs including "I Wanna Be Like Osama", has already opened. And for those who prefer their musical theatre without the social or political commentary there is Debbie Does Dallas - The Musical, Orgasm - The Musical, Kudzu: The Hometown Musical and even Romeo and Juliet - A Rock and Roll Love Story.

Jon Morgan, who is directing the Edinburgh Festival for the first time this year, believes the growth of the new musical with its heavy emphasis on satire is a healthy sign.

He said: "It is very exciting. In some ways the fact that there are so many this year signifies the revival of the musical as a form. Undoubtedly much of it comes from the success of Jerry Springer: The Opera when people realised that musicals didn't have to be cutesy or done with big hydraulics. Somewhere in between there is a space for satirical, scaborous and outrageous humour."

For many however, coming to Edinburgh is all about getting noticed. With more than 2,000 shows vying for a share of an estimated audience of three million it is important to shout loud. A transfer to the London stage can reap huge dividends for the aspiring directors and actors who come here in their thousands each summer and for whom Edinburgh has become the most important shop window for the theatrical year.

Chris Bush of the White Rose Theatre Company directed and wrote Tony Blair - The Musical, a hugely funny yet surprisingly sensitive look at Mr Blair's premiership. "We learnt last year that if you haven't got someone famous in your cast and you haven't got a shameless gimmick then you don't sell tickets. So we came back this year with Tony," he said.

"We wanted something that wasn't overtly political so we focused on the relationship between the characters - particularly Tony and Cherie. I don't think Tony Blair is evil but more importantly I don't think that would be very entertaining for an audience. There is quite a lot of sympathy with Tony Blair by the end of the show. He got a lot of things wrong but what you can't criticise him on are his convictions - I think he really did do what he thoughtwas right," he said.

High notes

* Tony! Blair The Musical York's White Rose Theatre Company cast the Prime Minister as a thwarted Eva Peron in this look at his premiership

* Tony Blair - The Musical

Even Sondheim would have struggled with lines such as "tough on crime tough on the causes of crime" but James Lark's new satire has already earned rave reviews

* Orgasm - The Musical

Promises to have the audience "screaming in more than just the aisles" as it examines the trials and tribulations of a sexually mismatched couple looking for happiness

* Debbie Does Dallas - The Musical

Much-praised stage adaptation of the classic 1978 porn movie promises to be one of the big festival hits though those hoping for explicit sex scenes will leave disappointed

* ASBO - The Musical

The Z Theatre Company brings "tunes, Burberry and sequins" as its anti-hero Darren goes in search of the ultimate symbol of modern street cred - an Anti Social Behaviour Order

* Chav! It's a Musical Innit

Hate, greed and racism on the streets of modern Britain as sung by the Crowded Logic Theatre Company