by ⭐⭐⭐⭐
You can only imagine what the revelers outside the new Beside room must think if they hear some of the “horrible things” bleeding out through the walls into Pleasance Courtyard this August.
Frankie Thompson has taken found footage to new heights, and depths, in this showcase where she lip-synchs and acts out over audio recordings from decades past. There’s the precocious 9-year-old Tory boy from the 1980s, worshipping Margaret Thatcher while vowing to become prime minister himself someday. There’s older Tories, openly dishing about scandalous cover ups for their colleagues. There’s bizarre celebrity novelty singing, and dancing, and yes, that means audience interaction will be part of the production.
Thompson announces her intentions at the start of the hour, and she further announces each transition to the next horrible thing with a loud gagging cough. As if she has taken in more than enough of that awfulness, time to expel it and cleanse the palette.
Every Fringe needs a show that feels like the performer was locked in an attic for far too long as a child and built a show out of their boredom and/or madness. Hats off to her for making this one!
Frankie Thompson: Horrible Things plays Beside in Pleasance Courtyard during the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
