Potty the Plant
Potty The Plant is an adult dark comedy musical based around the character of Potty, a singing tap dancing potted plant.
History
[edit]Short film
[edit]Potty The Plant was originally released as a 10-minute long short film in 2017. The short film won The Monkey Bread Tree Film Award for Best Film Score by Baden Burns. The short film was also nominated for Best Ensemble Cast and Best Genre Piece of the Season for 2017.
Stage Musical
[edit]An hour long stage musical version, with added songs and subplots, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023, produced by Little Big Stack Theatre Company, and ran for a month at Gilded Balloon Patterhoose on Chambers Street, Edinburgh.[1] The show was also featured for one night at the Durham Fringe Festival with the same cast.
A cast recording was produced with the original cast and released to coincide with the 2024 fringe festival run.
After a sold-out run at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the show had its London Premier at Wiltons Music Hall[2][3] in June 2025, before returning to the Edinburgh Fringe festival for its third run.[4]
Cast Iterations
[edit]| Character | 2023 (Durham Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe Run) | 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Run | 2025 (Wiltons Music Hall and Edinburgh Fringe Run) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potty The Pant | Baden Burns | Baden Burns | Baden Burns |
| Miss Lacey | Sarah Oakland | Sarah Oakland | Lucy Appleton |
| Dr Acula | Alex Singh | Hudson Tong | Ash K-B |
| Nurse Dave/ The Moon | Zach Burns | Zach Burns | Joe Winter |
| Nurse Mel/ Little Timmy | Steph Cubello | Steph Cubello | Steph Cubello |
| Nurse Stephen/ The Sun | Sam Ridley | Thom Potts | Sam Ridley |
Production team
[edit]Book: Baden Jack Burns, Sarah Burns, Aeddan Sussex
Music: Baden Jack Burns
Musical Direction: Zach Burns
Reception
[edit]
Potty The Plant received 5 stars from Mickey Joe Theatre, the Derek Awards, and Curley Sue.[5] Broadway Baby gave the show 4 Stars, praising the show's "Silly Seriousness".[6] Other 4 star reviews from publications included The Indiependent[7], Fringe Review,[8] Theatre, Films and Art Reviews[9] and Lost In Theatreland.[10] ThreeWeeks also gave the show 4 stars, writing "It must say something when a musical's irritating, infernally catchy tunes are still with you the day after you've seen it".[11] Theatre and Tonic gave the show 4 stars, stating " If you enjoy “blooming marvellous” warmly fun shows with excellent dark British humour and a pinch of musical chaos then this is the show for you."[12] The Reviews Hub also gave the show 4 stars, calling Potty The Plant "theatrical chaos in the best possible way"[13]. Publications such as Culture Calling[14] and others have recommended the show to fans of the Starkid franchise due to its irreverent, off-the-wall style.
Broadway World gave Potty The Plant 3 Stars, saying "Potty the Plant is the show for people who want an hour of ridiculous, musical fun - led by a slightly unsettling plant! From its beginnings as a short film to this show, Potty the Plant is sure to continue to grow."[15]
Other Media Appearances
[edit]The Potty The Plant production team, Little Big Stack, have appeared multiple times on MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast to discuss the writing and creative direction of the show with the podcast's host Thos Ribbits.[16] The team have also spoken about their second musical Fringe: The Musical! on the podcast. Other media appearances include interviews with West End Best Friend[17], and The Phoenix Remix[18]
References
[edit]- ^ Hall, Margaret. "11 Edinburgh Fringe Shows to See at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose (That's a Venue)". Playbill.
- ^ "Potty The Plant". Wilton's Music Hall. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Wild, Stephi. "POTTY THE PLANT Comes to Wilton's Music Hall". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ "20 Hot Tickets for Edinburgh Fringe 2025". Theatre & Tonic. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ "Review – Potty The Plant". Curlysue blog. 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "Potty the Plant: 4 star review by Katerina Partolina Schwartz". broadwaybaby.com. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Leslie, Ellen (2023-10-09). "'Potty The Plant' Is Hilariously Dark: Review". The Indiependent. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ Stein, Tamara (August 17, 2023). "Potty The Plant - A New Dark Comedy Musical. Review". FringeReview.
- ^ Outthere1971 (2023-08-12). "Potty the Plant". Theatre, Films and Art reviews. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Catherall, Ella (2023-08-14). "POTTY THE PLANT - REVIEW - EDINBURGH FRINGE". lostintheatreland.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Potty The Plant (Little Big Stack) | ThreeWeeks Edinburgh". Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Potty The Plant: The Musical at Wilton's Music Hall Review". Theatre & Tonic. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ London, The Reviews Hub- (2025-06-26). "Potty the Plant – Wilton's Music Hall, London". The Reviews Hub. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ "Potty the Plant". www.culturecalling.com. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ Smith, Helen. "EDINBURGH 2023: Review: POTTY THE PLANT, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose - Doonstairs". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast". musicaltalk.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ "Interview: All-round creative Baden Burns on new adult comedy musical POTTY THE PLANT". West End Best Friend. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ Holly (2023-07-05). "Theatre At The Fringe – INTERVIEW – Potty the Plant". Welcome to The Phoenix Remix. Retrieved 2025-06-26.