If you are looking for something quintessentially Fringe this May then look no further. The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show is a wonderful mix of 10 minute plays from laugh out loud comedy to the poignant and thought-provoking, served with coffee and a croissant. There are four different ‘menus’ to choose from with five different plays in each. We were here seeing Menu Two.
Keeping Annabelle starts with thriller music and a man leading a woman in to the space with a bag on her head: he ties her to the chair while saying he doesn’t want to hurt her or ransom her for money; he simply wants her. What could otherwise be a frightening situation is actually hilarious due to the dialogue. But everything changes when he takes the bag off her head, then the story goes in a direction nobody is expecting, with genuine guffaw moments.
Even funnier, if possible, is a Raymond Chandler-esque film noire style Noir Man with comedy in such unusual moments, all perfectly timed. The one liners are particularly fabulous, and completely unexpected. It’s also full of film references which is super for film fans, and gentle jibes at people knowing classic tales from films without having read the books. In another, two young travellers both wearing Che Guevara t-shirts trying to out virtue signal each other in Waiting For Hashim is hilarious: very modern, relevant and unusual.
The interfering nature of our critical inner voices is the subject of Quiet Table For Four where the inner voices are represented by people on the stage alongside the two people at the table on a blind date and their waitress, which results in all sorts of hilarity, especially when we realise the inner voices can talk to each other. All these stories have different comedic qualities, so even though humour is subjective, there will be something for everyone between these different plays.
The other thing you need in comedy is the chance to come to ground, to have something real and poignant. Here it is I’m A Celebrity, which although presented with the comedic offers you the chance to reflect and is very moving. It offers an insight in this one person show into the obsession with celebrity, which hides a longing to be seen and valued. If you’re not a celebrity, “how does anyone know you exist?” is delivered with purity which belies the desperation to matter to someone else.
The acting throughout is super: each is so suited to the role they play. This is an accomplished award winning formula and troupe with an offering that completely works, and it’s wonderful to have them back in Brighton after an 11 year absence. If you are looking across all the productions during the Fringe and wondering what to see, then this is thoroughly, 100 percent, recommended.
Ironworks Studio, 5 May 2025
Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show runs various dates through Brighton Fringe 2025
Photos credit: Kat Benson
