Edinburgh Fringe 2025 reviews: The Fit Prince / Undersigned

The Fit Prince (who gets switched on the square in the frosty castle the night before (insert public holiday here)), Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★

They’ve created an affectionate but merciless send-up of Princess Di; they’ve lampooned Gwyneth Paltrow, her lifestyle brand Goop and her (ahem) unfortunate skiing collision; and they’ve even got their claws into the horror show that was the movie version of Cats. Awkward Productions – aka real-life couple Linus Karp and Joseph Martin – have a well-rehearsed arsenal of tried-and-tested techniques for skewering those who deserve it (or, in many cases, don’t), while also paying affectionate homage in a gloriously over-the-top, flamboyantly queer, joyfully audience-involving way.

None of which stops in their latest show (deep breath), The Fit Prince (who gets switched on the square in the frosty castle the night before (insert public holiday here)). But in many ways, The Fit Price (let’s stick to that) feels like a bit of a departure. It’s slightly softer and gentler than earlier shows, with a take-you-back-to-your-childhood fairytale setting that seems entirely familiar. Heck, you might even mistake it for a kids’ show – well, if you ignore the copious lashings of smut and the unapologetically (and entirely unquestioned) queer foundations of its flimsy but effective storyline.

In the Kingdom of Swedonia, Prince Ilian is about to ascend to the throne, but he’s missed one crucial stipulation: he must be married. With the coronation just days away, and with none of his dashing suitors tickling his fancy, will the monarchy of Swedonia fall? Or will Noo Yoik baker Aaron Butcher (confusing, right?), who just happens to be there to bake the fancy wedding cake, somehow help resolve the crisis?

There may not exactly be much jeopardy in The Fit Prince’s will-they-won’t-they storyline, but obviously that’s not the point. What’s more important is the show’s joyful, pantomime-style informality, its clever mix of live performances with video and audience participation, and above all its effusive, over-the-top flamboyance. That audience participation: yes, it’s really pretty integral to the show’s success, since individual audience members are carefully chosen (probably at random) and assigned speaking parts, and sometimes more. But it’s a mark of Karp and Martin’s trust in their audience that they lean on them so heavily, and – clearly – a mark of the audience’s investment in Karp and Martin’s collective imagination that they respond so eagerly. (The fact that Edinburgh audiences are full of performers from others shows probably helps, too.)

While some of the wild excess of Awkward Productions’ earlier shows might be toned down a little here, in return the duo offers a greater complexity of story – with, whisper it, subplots and characters with backstories and motivations – and a richness of ideas. It’s a gentler show, yes, but also one that dares to set its ambitions higher. Just like Karp and Martin themselves, in fact, who look set to achieve a Fringe first in the festival’s first real-life marriage – held as (what else?) a Fringe show with special guests and live performances – this coming weekend.

• Until 25 August

Undersigned, Underbelly Cowgate ★★★★

Bring an offering, take a seat, don a blindfold. There’s an intentionally unsettling, even somewhat alienating aura surrounding Philadelphia-based Yannick Trapman-O’Brien’s one-on-one show Undersigned, which even stretches to a mysterious pre-experience email from the (maybe) sinister ‘management’. You’re explicitly instructed not to divulge what actually goes on inside Undersigned’s darkened room, so I’ll respect that agreement. Suffice it to say, however, that it might be quite a lot more intimate, personal and even emotional than the show’s somewhat austere setting might suggest – and that getting fully involved might therefore take a little mood adjustment. Once thoughts and feelings are in line, however, Undersigned finds a wonderfully simple way to ask you to weigh up some of life’s profoundest questions, and some of the most fundamental issues that face all of us. Judging by the emotional intensity of earlier participants’ responses, revealed as the show reaches its quiet close, others have found it equally compelling and moving. Undersigned might just end up answering some questions you never even knew you had.

• Run ended

• The Edinburgh Fringe runs until 25 August 
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