Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Alex Franklin declares that they want us to laugh more than we’ve ever laughed before, and for someone to laugh so much that they die. Following a frantic hour of music, dancing (sort of) and absurdist stand-up, they check for signs of life in the front row and, yep, everyone is very much with us.

A lot of this high-energy hour is devoted to an imagined bitter rivalry between a mouse with a gun and a dog with a sword, put together with deliberately cheap-looking Microsoft Office. What might have been a diverting minute or so takes far too long.

Similarly, the performer’s best idea here – playing with the idea of bees communicating through the medium of dance, with Franklin body-popping their way through an observation that turns into Princess Diana conspiracy theory – is great, but they devote way too much time to it. A riff on The Walking Dead that could’ve been sweetly daft ends up feeling laboured for the same reasons.

With the assistance of a strong-willed director, the audience would enjoy this show as much as Alex does. Varying the pace, having more faith in the stronger ideas (describing Laurence Fox as being avant-garde for using racism to be transphobic is very funny indeed) and avoiding calling audience members ‘cringe’ when they’re supporting you would be good places to start.

Review date: 27 Aug 2023
Reviewed by: Ashley Davies
Reviewed at: Underbelly Cowgate