REVIEW: High Society – Edinburgh Playhouse ★★★★☆

Edinburgh Playhouse | 8 September 2026

Champagne, glamour, gorgeous gowns and enough Cole Porter classics to keep you humming all the way home — High Society certainly knows how to throw a party.

The much-loved musical arrived at the Edinburgh Playhouse this week promising audiences an evening of old-school Hollywood glamour, and visually, it absolutely delivers.

But opening night came with an unexpected bit of drama before the curtain had even gone up.

The production's two advertised leads, Helen George and Julian Ovenden, were unable to make it to Edinburgh due to the air traffic disruption affecting travel across the UK. That meant Isobel Snaas stepped into the central role of Tracy Lord, with Andrew Coshan taking on the role of C.K. Dexter Haven.

Talk about pressure!

Based on Philip Barry's play The Philadelphia Story and the 1956 film starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, High Society follows wealthy socialite Tracy Lord as she prepares to marry the rather conventional George Kittredge.

Everything appears to be going to plan until her ex-husband Dexter arrives on the scene, closely followed by reporter Mike Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie, who have been sent to cover the wedding.

Naturally, throw an ex-husband, a handsome journalist and copious amounts of champagne into a wedding weekend and things don't remain straightforward for very long.

And all of this plays out against a production that looks absolutely beautiful.

The sets, costumes and lighting combine to create the sort of sumptuous 1950s world you'd expect from High Society. There's an elegance to the whole thing, from the sprawling Lord family home to the fabulous costumes, and at times it feels as though an old Hollywood movie has spilled onto the Playhouse stage.

Then there's the music.

Cole Porter's score includes True Love, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Well, Did You Evah! and I've Got You Under My Skin, and the live musicians are an enormous part of what makes this production work.

One of the night's real standouts is Carly Mercedes Dyer as Liz Imbrie.

Her performance of I've Got You Under My Skin is easily one of the highlights of the evening. Dyer has charisma to spare and commands the stage whenever she's on it, delivering a performance that makes you sit up and pay attention.

Nigel Lindsay also has enormous fun as Uncle Willie, providing some of the biggest laughs of the evening, while Freddie Fox brings plenty of charm and comic timing to reporter Mike Connor.

But special credit has to go to Isobel Snaas and Andrew Coshan.

Stepping into the two leading roles at short notice on the opening night of a run at the Edinburgh Playhouse is no small task. Whatever nerves may have been happening backstage, both handled the challenge with professionalism and confidence.

Snaas makes an assured Tracy Lord and captures her confidence and sharpness, while Coshan brings warmth to Dexter. Given the circumstances surrounding their performances, they deserve huge credit.

For all the things High Society gets right, though, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was missing.

There's glamour.

There's comedy.

There's fantastic music.

There's champagne everywhere.

But occasionally it needs just a little more oomph.

The first half in particular takes some time to really get going, and while the characters are entertaining, the emotional relationships between them don't always feel as developed as they could be.

For a story built around complicated romances, old flames and a bride questioning everything on the eve of her wedding, I wanted a little more chemistry and emotional spark.

Thankfully, the production grows into itself as the evening progresses. Once the champagne starts flowing and the characters loosen up, so does the show.

And when High Society is firing on all cylinders, it's enormously entertaining.

This isn't a musical trying to reinvent theatre. It's unapologetically glamorous, old-fashioned escapism — beautiful people in beautiful clothes behaving badly while Cole Porter provides the soundtrack.

Sometimes that's exactly what you want from a night at the theatre.

With gorgeous staging, a superb score, some excellent supporting performances and two understudies admirably rising to a pretty daunting opening-night challenge, High Society delivers a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

It just needed that extra little burst of energy and chemistry to take the party from very good to truly unforgettable.

★★★★☆ – 4/5

Jenna attended the opening night of High Society at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 8 September 2026.