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Earlier in the day that I would see Sam Eley’s latest creation, Jonno joked on the Monkey Barrel 2 stage that comedians who lack confidence in their jokes just say them louder. So what happens when you put a giant papier-mâché head over your own head? Then your jokes speak volumes in a completely different tone.
In Eley’s case, his Basil Crumbwick turns his point of view into that of a balding, big-eyed curmudgeon.
Jeff Dunman’s most famous ventriloquist dummy, Walter, may give Dunham a chance to mock himself and the way the world has changed since back in his day. But Basil Crumbwick’s observations provide a window in the soul of isolated, defeated, old white men, raging against the world even if and when nobody wants to listen. Which makes his jokes much too dark for Eley to ever express publicly. Not dark in the same way Dunham’s observations work. More dark as in sad. But funny pathetic sad.
“Would I have designed my face to look like this if I had nice things to say?” he cracks at one point.
It’s also simply fun watching Eley attempt to read chapters of Crumbwick’s purported self-help book through his big head, or to try to take a drink of water mid-show.
Sam Eley is Basil Crumbwick: Soul Sewage plays Monkey Barrel 2 during the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
