Stand Up Horror – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

Alex Staniforth, actor, writer and tour guide is an old hand at the Edinburgh Horror Festival, and a regular performer at Banshee Labyrinth throughout the year, and it shows. His easy and warm interaction with the room between generous gulps from his pint allows the group to relax together and the story that unfolds between them to flow organically, and hilariously.

The small size of the audience in the intimate Cave Bar space ensures that everyone contributes – whether they want to or not!

The story as it develops under Staniforth’s tutelage is guaranteed to take some unlikely turns, and tonight is no exception. Elon Musk makes an unscheduled appearance, making our heroine an offer she can’t refuse for her flying keyboard, meanwhile the hordes of zombies heading for Edinburgh Castle suddenly make the unlikely move of calling their Union rep to demand more brains, pensions and healthcare!

It probably helps that 90% of the audience are DND players who ‘get’ the DM role that Alex is playing, and who also know the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything (42). But there is much humour to be had from the uninitiated, and perhaps the funniest part of tonight is the French couple who scuttle off after 10 minutes, fighting their way through the clanking dungeon doors muttering ‘Je ne comprends pas’!

Staniforth’s ‘gory-telling’ improves every time I see it, with razor-sharp pickups on audience suggestions and throwbacks with dark, spicy sauce added – hilarious. He looks super-comfortable in the cave bar, but the form of this show is self-limiting, and it would be great to see him develop these ideas further for a bigger audience. He deserves it!

Reviewer: Greg Holstead

Reviewed: 1^st November 2024

North West End UK Rating:

Running time – 45 Mins