one4review | On 15, Aug 2026

This show has something of a following, though this was my first experience of it, and unusually for a comedy show, there were folk enthusiastic about sitting in the front row. The following is justified, thought it’s more ‘niche and culty’ than ‘broad spectrum smash hit’: this stuff is good, just maybe not for everyone.

The not for everyone part stems mostly from the Grimm endings to the tales: less happily ever after and more dancing to death in iron shoes. Notwithstanding, this is every bit as good as you should expect from an ensemble of clowns who are each individually acclaimed and established performers.

The show opens with a wordless and surreal piece of nonsense involving a bowl of water and there’s something about having to concentrate to understand what’s being communicated that draws you in. It’s very well performed, and the comic timing in this, and throughout the show, is superb. There’s nothing superfluous, but neither is there anything foregone: if it has the potential to be funny, it’s used. There’s some lovely details like the silvery hand-fish, and the troupe’s internal dynamic, and there’s things left to wonder: is this the first time they’ve played with water? How did they know to do it? Ultimately though, the show is a piece of dark and delightful nonsense, murky and beguiling, sticking with you beyond the exit doors.

Reviewed by Laura
Piccolo Tent, Assembly George Square Gardens
Until 30th (not 17th)