Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

For a show about a power-mad princelet, Boyking generates an unexpected party atmosphere on the way in, as American clown Lil Wenker explodes out of Bunker One, dancing around, tooting her trumpet and getting the weekend audience hyped up for something spectacular.

In terms of the party, she broadly delivers. Boyking is a rambunctious, very silly show that takes the Joffrey archetype with which we’re all now familiar and gives him the small twist needed to make him a ridiculous clown. 

Wenker’s character Prince Wilfred is a tiny, apple-cheeked tyrant who starts the show as a selfish monster and then immediately graduates to fratricide and patricide when he finds out how the line of succession works in a monarchy.

Wenker’s devised a nice voice for her prince, a wheedling, babyish lisp that I think may be based on early-internet meme Homestar Runner, and milks most of her comedy from her performance style. Her crowd work is lovely too, although potentially embarrassing for one target, who spends the majority of the show almost nude after being forced to make a gift of his clothes to satisfy Wilfred. 

That opening section is a highlight, and there’s other good stuff in there too, particularly the catchy hip-hop track laid down by the ailing old king, and a lovely bit of physical with an enormous, heavy crown that proves too much for Wilfred’s skinny neck.

As in many clown shows, there’s a tendency for longueurs to develop between those high points, particularly in the final 15 minutes where Wenker protracts the climax with too much busywork. 

The clownic impulse to let routines develop organically and discover themselves in the process can often feel at odds with the snappiness and concision that’s usually a feature of good comedy. Wenker keeps things tighter than most, though, and the high points are certainly worth waiting for.

Review date: 17 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard