A musical parody of a beloved Canadian TV show at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe? Surely not! Whilst this one is also queer, this parody is not of that Ice Hockey show, but of Canada’s other recent(-ish) screen behemoth: Schitt’s Creek. For reasons of Intellectual Property law, the show, and the town it is set in, are both named ‘Crapp’s River’.
This parody has taken a ‘spirit of the show’s approach to its adaptation. Given the original’s 80+ episodes, that’s a sensible plan.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the original, the premise is this: The Schitt family: wealthy; powerful; influential, and; slightly kooky, wake up one morning to find their obscenely tacky mansion being raided by the FBI. Their accountant is crooked, and hasn’t paid their taxes correctly for years. He’s also done a flit with their money. The FBI seizes all their assets, bar one – the small town of ‘Schitt’s Creek’, bought by father John for son David’s birthday as a joke. With nowhere else to go, the family decamps to the town and lives in a motel whilst they sort their lives out, a journey which takes six seasons and a Special.
Crapp’s River manages to summarise this opening action in one, three-minute long song. Indeed, all the songs here have been superbly written and composed, and all move the plot forward in some way.
The ‘spirit of the thing’ plot is that the town is to hold a Bicentennial parade, and that parade needs a Grand Marshall. Cue mother, Moira, daughter Alexis, and David all bidding to win the affection of the town, or whoever it is that decides who wins – the goal posts for victory keep on changing, which is reflective of the confusion present in almost every episode of Schitt’s Creek, generally For Plot Reasons.
There’s also a sub-plot about being a gay icon, which leads to the supporting members of the cast of eight portraying a range of undisputed icons, whilst the Crapp family members squabble about who is also the ‘Best Gay Icon’ amongst them.
The characterisations are spot on. David’s bold experiments in fashion are present and correct, and the actor playing Alexis has all of the original character’s physical mannersisms down to a tee. Special mention must be made of the actor playing Moira, who is channelling the spirit and character accent of the late Catherine O’Hara with pinpoint accuracy.
There’s a lot of silliness here, and a lot of fun songs, and, underneath it all, in true Schitt’s Creek style, a message about learning to love and accept yourself, and value everyone equally. If you’re a fan of the original show, then you can safely go and see this. You won’t find yourself up a creek, or a river, of either Schitt, or Crapp, if you do.
