A review of Tabletop Role-Playing Game: The Musical, Fringe 2026

Tabletop Role-Playing Game: The Musical is about a group of friends who are playing a tabletop roleplay game together. During the performance we switch between ‘table talk’ scenes and fantasy scenes, as though the characters are in the world the Game Master has created. It includes many themes and tropes from games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, 13th Age etc. without feeling forced or cliche. 

Upon entering the venue and taking my seat, I started studying the actors on stage and I figured out many of the races and classes of the player characters solely from their costumes. The costumes were simple but effective. 

‘So, what do you want to do?’

The musical begins with the Game Master setting the scene; the party had just won a fight and the field is littered with bodies. The GM asks ‘what do you want to do’. The obvious answer is loot the bodies! This begins the first musical number, in which the characters get progressively more deranged in their search for loot. This number had me howling with laughter, as it was very relatable and incredibly chaotic. I immediately knew I was going to enjoy this musical. A strong start, for sure.

It quickly became clear that the Dave, the Human Ranger, had very low intelligence and no sense of self preservation, as he died very soon after the first song finished. Thus enters the players new character, a Human Ranger named Steve. 

This leads nicely into the next song, where the characters regale us with the tale of how they ended up here, aka their sad backstory.   ‘So, how did your parents die?’ Steve is asked. Cue more laughter from myself and other audience members. At least in the DnD groups I play in, having dead parents – or at least dead family members – is a key part to most of the player character’s backstories. 

Props were used in a humorous but effective manner throughout the show to portray non-player characters (NPCs) the Game Master is playing, to set the scene, and to progress the story. One of my favourite examples of this is the NPC Bivouac the Goblin, who is basically a Kermit puppet wearing a goblin mask. Both the player characters and the audience grew a certain fondness towards Bivouac as the show went on, leading to emotional scenes later down the line.

The mission

The gang of monster slayers learn from Bivouac that the Mayor of the nearby town has turned evil, and they are thus tasked with stopping her. First, they must break into her mansion to do some recon and to see if they can find out what her evil plan is, and kill her if necessary (or, yknow, because it sounds fun). Steve is convinced that he can seduce her. Yeah, we’ve all played with that character.

The first puzzle the group encounter is how to get through the front door of the mansion. They burst into song as they try and fail many times to open the door, using a mix of force and spells. Eventually Creto, the Dragonborn, asks: “Has anyone tried the handle?”

Again, this is something I’m sure many TTRPG players can relate to. In my group it has happened so often that it’s a running joke. I have learnt to just ask if the door is unlocked, finally.

The laundry basket of eternity

Due to a series of poor decision, Steve ends up stuck in a whirling world littered with various items of clothing when he falls headfirst into the Mayor’s laundry basket.

Unfortunately, the group had made the oft bad decision to split the party, so only Creto was there to try and help Steve escape. Luckily he does eventually escape the strange portal, and has somehow ended up with quite an important item dangling around his neck. Obviously he does not realise this. The low intelligence radiates from this particular character. 

Boss fight!!

Just as all good stories end with a dramatic battle, as does Tabletop Roleplaying Game: The Musical. However, they twisted the usual format here when they ask a random audience member to roll a giant d20 on the stage for us all to see.

This dice roll will decide the fate of the party, opening the door to different possible endings at different shows. I really liked this element. At this show, the party were successful thankfully. Steve, of course, tried to seduce the Mayor one final time, but the gang prevailed eventually.

Overall...

For a musical, I felt that some of the singing was a bit lacking. The actors playing Arani and Creto however were particularly talented singers. The lyrics, script, and composition were all amazing and really made the musical feel relatable and funny.

There were plenty of moments where I chuckled because my DnD group had been in that exact situation or said a particular quote word for word. I would definitely recommend this show if you are the kind of nerd who plays any kind of tabletop role playing game.