Are you looking for love at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe? Whether you’re on the hunt for a quick fling or your future spouse, The Queer Comedy Club are here to help with their very fun new show Married at Fringe Sight.
Hosted by comedians David Ian and Jeremy Topp, audience members are invited to scan a QR code and answer questions about topics such as their worst ever date, their ideal partner, and the worst thing about their last (or current) partner to help the duo play match-maker.
But this isn’t just a show for singletons. We’re told that in this space, for one night only, relationship status, sexuality, and preferences are thrown completely out the window — handy, given that the ratio of straight women to straight men in my audience was approximately 20:1.
Once the comedians have shared a few of the most interesting answers to these questions with the audience on a screen in the middle of the stage, they set about pairing up three couples, and the audience has to vote for their favourite. The winners get the proud accolade of being officially ‘married’ for the evening.
In the name of doing a thorough review, I gave some suitably thorough (and perhaps, unhinged) answers to the questions which resulted in me being paired up with a lovely comedian called Sarah. While our on-stage prom pose sadly didn’t win us enough fans to claim the top spot, I’ll remember our brief fling fondly.
Throughout the show, the banter between the comedians and the audience flows effortlessly — they’re an incredibly strong pair of hosts who handle the crowd with ease.
Married at Fringe Sight is a simple but brilliant concept that lends itself to plenty of laughs and a true masterclass in crowd work. The show’s runtime is currently only one hour, but there’s definitely scope to expand this into a longer event — it could be great to see the three couples answer more questions to test their ‘compatibility’, or even take part in some challenges to really make it feel like a head-to-head competition.
If you’re looking for a great night out at the Fringe — no matter if you’re single or taken — Married at Fringe Sight is well worth a ticket.
Playing until 24th August, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/married-at-fringe-sight
Reviewer: Olivia Cox
Reviewed: 10th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: