Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Phil Ellis has not messed too much with a winning formula as he revives his alleged kids’ show after a ten-year hiatus.  Again there are sharp gags about the brutalities of life that go sailing over innocent heads; again there are slapstick games to humiliate the adults; and again Ellis’s fragile authority is gloriously overrun by the feral youngsters.

He performs in a cheap pirate costume and as if still recovering from the night before and still smarting over his divorce, with no real instinct on how to talk to the kids on their own level. Every time he needs bailing out – which is often – he mollifies the children by liberally throwing sweets at their feet, leaving them scrabbling like paupers seeking pennies in the dirt. 

The sugar they consume no doubt contributes to the atmosphere turning all Lord Of The Flies by the end. Not to mention the fact Ellis riles up their competitive edge, then arms them with sponge balls to throw at him. 

The zeal with which they attack him unleashes something primal in their young minds, while the comic’s valiant but impossible attempts to restore order are downright hilarious. There is no purer comedy than a man impotently demanding respect as his dignity rapidly deserts him.

This time around, Ellis is aided in his attempts to control the anarchy by deadpan Huge Davies as a non-copyright-infringing Orphan Wizard Boy – who has even less rapport with the kids than Ellis – and Katie Pritchard as a jaunty, upbeat, and limelight-stealing Fairy Mother. Plus Tom Short rejoins the cast for a sleazy cameo.

Ellis has lots of great jokes, too, but the battle to get them out against myriad interruptions and bizarre, unfiltered  questions from the kids who occupy the first couple of rows is just as funny. For if you want true unpredictability in a show, just add children. They catalyse the chaos so heartily enjoyed by the adults who comprise the vast majority of the audience.

• Funz And Gamez Rebootz's Fringe run is now over.

Review date: 11 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: S
Reviewed at: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club