The Mr Thing Show ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Mr Thing are back "broadcasting" live at the Fringe with a brand-new show! Become part of the studio audience as Tom and Owen, Puppet Steve and a crew of Things pull together a TV variety show live on stage with surprise guests, games, video sketches, live music, remote controlled cameras, musical robots, technical hijinx and much more. Welcome to the multimedia mayhem that is The Mr. Thing Show.”

There are shows where you sit quietly in a darkened theatre and watch a precisely built piece of theatre unfold in front of you. Then there is The Mr Thing Show, where you are effectively kidnapped and dragged into the world's most chaotic television studio. Complete with puppets, robots, cameras, live music and enough technical equipment to make a small TV station nervous.

The direction is strong and embraces the show's wonderfully disorderly energy. Playfulness runs through it all, with the performers seemingly able to bounce from one idea to another without ever losing the audience. It feels spontaneous, but there is clearly a huge amount of organisation underneath it all. Such balance between control and chaos is one of the production's greatest strengths.

The set is exactly what you want from a live television studio except someone appears to have emptied an entire warehouse of random objects into it. Equipment is everywhere, props are scattered around the stage, and a surprising amount of technology is packed into the space. We have walked into a TV studio that has been permitted to lose its mind completely. And somehow, every single thing appears to have a purpose.

Costume is another lovely part of the visual world. I particularly liked the T-shirt and shorts at the beginning, but the suits are simply brilliant. They add so much joy to the production and help create that exaggerated television-variety-show aesthetic. They are silly, colourful and completely committed to the world the show has created.

LX is so much fun. There are some wonderfully playful states throughout, and the lighting adds substantially to the feeling that we are watching an actual live broadcast. There is a lovely mixture of different looks, and it never feels as though the production is simply sticking to one generic comedy-show state.

Sound is also excellent, and I particularly enjoyed having a live band involved. The songs are played beautifully and fit the production incredibly well. The band doesn't simply sit in the background providing accompaniment either; they become part of the world of The Mr Thing Show, which only makes the whole thing feel more alive.

The live camera work is one of the main features of the production, and it works exceptionally well. It is used tastefully when we need to see something happening elsewhere on stage or elsewhere, but it is also frequently deployed for comedic effect. The cameras never feel like technology for technology's sake. They are an integral part of the joke.

And

The book is random, wonderfully chaotic and completely committed to having a good time. It does rely on the audience at times, which means there is inevitably a level of unpredictability, but that is part of the show's appeal.

There are some extremely funny plot points and moments where the seemingly random collection of ideas suddenly comes together. It is the writing where you occasionally find yourself thinking, Why are we doing this? Before realising that the answer is, Because this is hilarious.

The show understands that comedy doesn't always need a complicated premise. Sometimes you need a ridiculous idea, a puppet, a camera and someone willing to commit to the bit.

The music and lyrics are similarly brilliant. Custom jingles are genuinely hilarious, alongside better-known songs chosen by the audience. But the moment that really sums up the show's atmosphere comes when “Tequila” starts playing and random audience members are invited onto the stage to say the one word they have been waiting their entire lives to say.

Tequila.

It is ridiculous.

It is unnecessary.

It is also absolutely brilliant.

And it perfectly sets the mood for the magnificent chaos that follows.

Tom Clarkson and Owen Visser are both fantastic performers, and their chemistry is a huge part of why the show works. They are wonderfully comedic and also extremely supportive of everyone else on stage. Nobody is fighting to be the centre of attention; instead, they constantly build on each other's energy.

Puppet Steve is an absolute highlight. The back-and-forth between Steve and Owen produces some genuinely hilarious moments, and the puppet has a surprisingly strong stage presence.

The live band also gets drawn into the action, which only strengthens the show. Rather than having different departments operating separately, everything becomes part of one enormous theatrical playground.

And that is ultimately what makes The Mr Thing Show so enjoyable.

It feels like everyone on stage is having fun.

Not the manufactured kind of fun where a performer tells you that something is hilarious and waits for you to agree. This feels like genuine play. You can see the performers discovering things, reacting to one another and enjoying the ridiculousness of what they have created.

The Mr Thing Show is a celebration of everything that can happen when theatre, television, puppetry, music and technology collide and nobody bothers to ask whether it is sensible.

It is technically impressive without becoming obsessed with showing off. It is chaotic without being careless. It is silly without being stupid.

Most importantly, it is enormously fun.

There existed times when I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen next — and that is exactly how a show like this should make you feel.

If you like your theatre polished, quiet and predictable, this isn't the show for you.

If you like puppets, robots, live cameras, live music, audience participation and the beautiful possibility that something might go spectacularly wrong at any moment…

Welcome to The Mr Thing Show.

The Theatre Reviewer verdict: ★★★★★

WHERE, WHEN & TICKETS

🎟️ From £14

📍 Assembly George Square Gardens – Piccolo Tent

📅 5–30 August 2026

⏰ 5:45 pm

⏱️ 60 minutes

The show is currently scheduled at Assembly George Square Gardens throughout the Fringe, with performances at 5:45 pm.