one4review | On 12, Aug 2026

Stamptown is the greatest variety show in the world, and I want to make one thing clear: it’s a late-night show for a reason. This show isn’t for the faint of heart.

We enter the venue and Dylan — a purple guy on rollerboots — clowns around with people coming into the show, while a skilled dancer sets things off with a silly bit.

Once Tucker takes the stage, it’s almost disconcertingly fast and disorienting: a barrage of sound effects, bits, jokes, dancers and people attacking the stage. The entire show is like an assault on the senses. It’s chaotic, fun, exciting, and very, very weird.

There’s non-stop calling out of things that flop, and immediately the energy is picked back up. There’s a self-effacing, joyful love of this failure, and a kind of magnetism to everyone who takes the stage. Everyone here likely has their own well-crafted show.

Some bits seem intentionally sloppy. They overlap. Some work, some don’t, and each clown has their own character game. Somehow, all of this mess is held together by Tucker, who moves from weirdo ringmaster to voice of reason — something he himself calls out, cracking us all up.

There’s a broad narrative structure: a billionaire is trying to buy Stamptown, and Tucker doesn’t want to sell because Stamptown is all about friendship. Although silly, it probably reflects a pressure Zucker is currently feeling given the Netflix special. So, although it’s essentially panto, it allows these guys to call each other out — and they very much do. Those moments of personal revelation take the show to a higher level.

Frankie McNair makes an appearance and is really solidifying her place as someone who’s in line for an award. Viggo Venn appears, and it’s really fun watching Zucker make fun of his obviously dear friend. Fun fact: Viggo actually flyered me after the show. Crazy that someone that successful is still out flyering.

Miles Calderon’s Mr Cardboard is a standout — the audience LOVE him. Bond really works his bit well, while the antagonist billionaire at times holds the entire show on course, impressively calling out the ridiculous and the flops.

Even the techs cleaning the stage have a funny character game. Zucker’s sidekick, a bald woman played marvellously as a foil for Tucker, offers real joy as his simpering assistant. It’s impossible not to like and to laugh at her.

There’s not one person on the stage who isn’t packed with talent. The show has a sword swallower (this frightened me – but the crowd loved it) and climaxes with a pole dancer doing things that genuinely made me anxious for her own safety. The crowd again went wild.

Appearing at first to be rough, scary and dirty, underneath there’s actually just a joyful, silly show. You can see that the narrative will move and change depending on what the performers want to do that night.

It’s messy as hell, exuberant, really weird and ridiculously fun. I left feeling rejuvenated, energised and inspired, but also a little bit dirty.

Maybe that was the point.

****1/2

Reviewed by Stephen “Sharpie” Sharp
Assembly George Square Gardens
Until 29th August (not 12 or 19)
21.50 (1 hour 20 mins)