Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

A luminous yellow, extremely camp alien crash-lands into a gay bar to deliver a chaotic, lively and poignant exploration of queer identity and otherness. 

Lukas Meintjes uses voice and physicality to brilliant effect in this hour of play that takes his audience on a journey of self-discovery that is well-structured and touching.

His fawning, flirtatious alien speaks in strange, squeaky sounds and clicks that are immediately amusing and gradually become a shared language in the room.

Scattered around are pieces of his wrecked spacecraft, and as our alien starts to try to fix it he begins to notice the strange customs of the local people. 

Charmed by their clothing and, in particular, the outfit of drag icon Ru Paul on a poster in the background, the alien calls on participants to help him shave his legs, put on makeup,  jewellery, a dress and heels. 

The rhythm of the B48Y Crash Lands on Earth is maintained by injections of a dance routine that builds up throughout, giving the piece a solid rhythm without limiting the play in the room. He gets an audience member to chase him, he has others dress him and he holds space well so that none of the participation seems involuntary or pained. 

Meintjes is sensitive to the room and has a good memory for picking up phrases and words they use, remembering to return to them when a laugh is needed.

He delivers his central theme around sexuality and acceptance at just the point that there were questions around what any of the silliness on stage might mean, winning the audience’s support. This doesn’t feel crammed in or laboured though - more a natural culminating scene in which he rejects his old identity for his new life on Earth.

The energy dropped about 10 to15 minutes in during attempts to repair parts of the ship. This segment seemed clunky on the night and could have been shorter.

There were a few too many ‘awww’ moments where there might be bigger laughs to be found, but the enduring sense was that the audience loved the alien and wanted to celebrate him in all his queer glory.

This is a well-built, well-delivered show that is as fun as it is funny while delivering on its meaning and purpose without stifling the comedy. 

Review date: 28 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: John Simpson
Reviewed at: Assembly George Square