one4review | On 15, Aug 2026

Spencer Jones is a master of absurdist comedy, well established in comedy as a ‘comedian’s comedian’; every fan with children will be thrilled to see his name appear when they search for children’s shows at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Jones is essentially taking an extremely loved and chaotic adult show and reskinning it for a younger audience, which, to be honest, is almost the same show minus the naughty words! When the show starts he gets straight to work in introducing his high energy to the key members of the audience, the children, he high fives them, encourages interaction and is clearly keen to ensure that he gets the biggest laughs from them ultimately, it’s nice to see a comedian do a show aimed at kids and not lament the fact or make it overt it’s a cash grab. In some ways, Jones has always been a children’s entertainer; he just was doing the shows at adults instead.

The show is pure unadulterated silliness and the the stage is littered with lo-fi props, junk, shabbby suitcases and some questionable inventions, it’s almost like his own laboratory of misfit inventions to make others laugh, and instead of moving through a set series of planned pieces we get instead a somewhat mad scientist feel and someone happy to show off what he’s made of as he scans the floor with a “what can I show you next?” kind of attitude. The best moment for me and what had every child (and adult) squealing was the crying babydoll in a box, but you can expect lots of bizarre puppets and makeshift props to entertain; nothing can’t be made funny or at least into a catchy tune on his loop machine.

I saw a few adults at the back who I think were just grownups who wanted to experience the chaotic joy Jones brings to an hour, and this is testament to just how this show is an “experimental kids show”, but really it’s Jones giving parents the chance to see a great show they’d go to without their kids! He manages to layer enough jokes that fly over little ones’ heads whilst constantly making himself and his own parenting choices and style a bunt of the joke.

It’s an hour of somewhat-planned chaos, and although I’m confident you could give Jones a toothbrush and you’d be giggling moments later with what he’s doing with it, you’re in for a great family outing. My children spoke about the ‘silly man’ for several days after, and multiple household items became creatures and creations. Glorious, silly and hilarious.

*****
Reviewed by Matthew
Pleasance Courtyard
Until 16 August