Brighton Fringe comedy review

Judging from its opening few minutes, Seasons Of W*nk could be the randiest sketch show this festival. 

Starting with a bucolic scene involving a milkmaid that takes a turn into the dark oddness, Jordana Belaiche and Bel Parker move through to seeking a ‘slutty’ daffodil in the audience like pollen-starved bees, and into May Day celebrations and Morris dancing that bring to the fore the fertility roots of both. Let’s just say they’ve probably got an expenses column on their tax return purely for dildos.

As the title suggests, Seasons Of W*nk moves through the cycle of the changing year, but also the beats of a changing life, from dating to marriage to death. The May Day scene is totemic of the show’s essentially rustic undertones, drawing on a powerful combination of naivety and earthy directness about the facts of life. That the pair dress in the red and white of passion and virginity emphasises this yin and yang.

The utter commitment to each scene also makes Belaiche and Parker stand out. The old gag about how folk sent dick pics in an age before smartphones becomes a full-blown period drama, full of repressed passion, with an audience member roped in to be the emissary between the two pining protagonists.

It’s not the only moment of audience interaction. A speed-date scene has them competing for one punter’s affections through two different approaches, before a lustier solution is proposed. Later, another chosen as a love interest is given the on-the-nose name ‘Hostage’.

While sticking loosely to their life-cycle premise, the pair constantly subvert expectations with sketches on and off-topic, including a song about the drunken messiness of a Bank Holiday; St George portrayed as a toxic alpha male; a bridezilla heaping responsibility for her happiness on the shoulders of her friends; ethereal Victorians encountering a monster baby in a creepy mansion and a parody of old-school physical comedy from the variety-hall days that turns into a comment on communism. Or at least I think it does, it’s not always possible, necessary or even desirable to keep up fully with where this pair’s idiosyncratic minds are going.

Sustaining an hour mainly on weird vibes with few clear punchlines can be difficult, but W*nkers only slip a few times, displaying a constant ability to surprise with off-the-wall scenes that adhere to their unhinged aesthetic while having an internal logic of their own. 

And while Belaiche and Parker – or their alter-egos, at least –  might be absolute nutters, they’ve got impressive performance skills that sell all their oddities with absolute conviction and an appealing, unruly energy.

Directed by Cecily Nash, who’s previously worked on successful clownish shows including Lil Wenker’s Bangtail and Kathy Maniura’s Cycling Man, Seasons Of W*nk features new sketches and greatest hits drawn from the W*nkers’ previous offerings. And this engagingly bonkers hour serves as an excellent calling card for their bawdy, chaotic talents. 

Review date: 31 May 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Brighton The Actors