We Will Hear the Angels – Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic

We Will Hear the Angels continues at Dissection Room at Summerhall until 30 August 2026.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Set against the backdrop of a city, an average urban sprawl, not pretty but familiar, We Will Hear the Angels encourages you to take a moment away from the hubbub of the Fringe, to be still and to connect.

The piece tells the stories of five heartbroken individuals: four of them through words and song, one through sound and music alone. Their pain is not loud, not of a dramatic type that weeps and wails, but rather a pain that sits deep within them, all encompassing yet somehow soft. Some characters are completely alone, others talk of those around them who, rather than easing their feelings, compound their loneliness.

Created by established and highly regarded Scottish theatre company Magnetic North, We Will Hear the Angels explores the relationship between music and sadness, and encourages reflection which lingers after the performance is over. Described as an exploration of “the counterintuitiveness of seeking comfort in sad music when we are heartbroken”, the team is successful in what it sets out to achieve.

Beginning with simple noises of a mundane life: the scrape of a chair, shake of a freshly laundered shirt, each sound rings out with the monotony of solitude. These objects are later replaced with instruments. Each character’s tale is then shared through succinct, emotive storytelling.

Interwoven into the stories are songs and instrumentals. It is in these moments that the performers really come into their own, bringing out the energy and personality of the characters. It is as if the music gives them space to breathe and to express, much in the same way that in everyday life music allows space for strong emotions.

The initial sounds of objects are forgotten when the “real” instruments are introduced, something which, had they continued, could have benefited the intended effect and tied the show together.

The musical pieces themselves seem to be pre-existing songs rearranged in such a way that some seem entirely new. The final song, a beautiful adaptation of ‘Spinning Away’, is a lullaby to loneliness, enveloping the characters and the audience.

Despite the sadness portrayed and the expertly performed haunting music, the show is not distressing but comforting. Through music and circumstance each character finds connection to themselves and each other. Though the ending is deliberately unending, it is hopeful. Together they sit, not hand in hand but side by side, in their separate homes with their separate lives, joined in music.

The piece as a whole draws on Chekhov, which can be felt in the pace and style of the stories told, successfully bringing the past and modern day together; heartbreak is timeless.

Lighting is well used, augmenting the emotions shared. Projections and captioning give a sense of place and at times light comedic relief.

This unique piece excels in the way it encapsulates the feelings of hidden loneliness, quiet heartbreak and connection, between the characters and between the audience and the performers. It is a relatable, gentle piece, slow but never dragging.

Take a step back from the festival bustle, take a moment to be still and allow yourself to be wrapped in a cool blanket of music and story.

Molly Glenn