Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Not knowing anything about this show going in, and then being assailed with banana fumes upon stepping through the door, I’ve never felt more like a withering apple in a fruit bowl. 

A Night of Drama is a late-night improv show corralled by American comedian Jack Grossman, who presides over the evening as director while dressed as Thomas Cromwell.

Every evening Grossman summons a group of clowns to the Underbelly where he guides them through quote-unquote serious dramatic scenes that they haven’t prepared for. Meanwhile, and this is the selling point, the audience are given a literally unlimited supply of banana peels to pelt anyone on stage (although there are some vague unspoken penalties in place for anyone who is found to be intentionally aiming at the comedian’s faces).

Theoretically, late-night crowds could have a lot of fun with this, and initially there’s a bit of hilarity as Grossman delivers his opening spiel under a rain of banana skins, but some further development is needed beyond the basic concept. As it is, the joke wears out its welcome in the first few minutes and nothing much comes along to relieve it.

Perhaps more attention could be paid to the drama. Grossman’s sense of the dramatic is curiously reminiscent of the post-industrialism of the silent film era. There’s a lot of rich men and poor men losing and gaining fortunes; lots of shivering orphans reunited with parents; lots of moral tales about bakers and people who have been away for many years at war. 

Not to give notes, but perhaps the definition of drama could be expanded to include scenarios like Succession or Taxi Driver or I May Destroy You, and see how much those changes in register interact with the bananas.

Not very much, would be my suspicion. Giving the audience control over a clowning show to this degree is an interesting experiment, and you can see it done well in The Glang Show, where audience members can give verbal suggestions that must be followed by the performers, or in Sean Morley’s (brilliant, best thing I’ve seen at the Fringe) solo work-in-progress Backchannel, which gives the audience a similar tool for self-expression. 

In comparison, A Night of Drama have just given the mob a big red buzzer. Sometimes it’s funny when it goes off at the right time, but not when every member of the audience is whacking it every few seconds.

The cast gathered on this evening are all very talented performers doing their best, and there’s sterling work from an extensive support crew of tech guys, banana peel-sweepers and background banana dancers, but the concept needs more thought.

Review date: 18 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Underbelly Cowgate