Review: Biff to the Future, Fringe 2025

Along with my 14-year old son I attended Biff to the Future, a one-man parody show written by and starring Joseph Maudsley.

The vibe

The venue was the Picolo tent in the Assembly Rooms George Square gardens where there was a plethora of street food stalls both inside and outside the gardens, along with several bars, toilets and plenty of seating areas.

While waiting for the show to begin we had a lovely lunch sitting in the sun and there was a buzzing atmosphere.

As we waited for the show to begin we noted a few interesting looking props sitting on the stage – including the iconic town hall clock from the movie, as well as several costumes and props hanging up. 

The show

Biff to the Future was an excellent and original parody re told with great costumes and props, and very funny throughout.

Joseph Maudsley opened the show by singing to The Power of Love music but with alternative amusing lyrics all relating to Back to the Future. It was a fun start that got the audience laughing and in the mood.

It was explained that this show was a chance for Biff to give his side of the story, and to ‘set the record straight’ on what really happened as he wasn’t the bad guy the movie portrayed him to be.

He recreated the famous movie, questioning some aspects of the storylines, such as would a 17 year old school boy really be best friends with an 70-year-old scientist – and wasn’t it fortunate that Marty McFly kept hold of that flyer about the town hall clock?

He played each of the main characters in turn, using wigs and costumes. If you’ve never seen the movie you wouldn’t get some of the jokes but I am guessing that most people wanting to see this show will be familiar with it.

There were a few very minor innuendos that would likely go over the heads of any younger children. It was all good fun and very funny. 

The audience

There was a real mix of people in the audience – a lot of families (youngest children were probably about 8 years old) as well as groups of young people and older couples. Back to the Future is a classic movie though that appeals to all age groups, right?!

There was a bit of direct audience participation- for example, someone was asked to put a wig on to play Jennifer (Marty McFly’s girlfriend).

A couple of other people were asked to come on to the stage to drive a remote control car (i.e the Delorean). This was all received in very good spirit and was great entertaining interaction. The audience were very appreciative and some people even gave a standing ovation at the end.

Overall

This was a very original and funny show – and a must-see for anyone who is a big fan of Back to the Future. We loved it and would definitely recommend.