Theatre: Brits Abroad: Banned
Adrian Clark got beach ready for holiday hell at Exeter Phoenix on 23rd June
The Embers Collective and Stumble Trip Theatre – creators of Wild Tales for Weird Folk, and specialists in storytelling performance and clowning – have teamed up once again but this time they’ve made it official: introducing NotThatButThat Theatre with Brits Abroad: Banned. Following a sell-out run at Edinburgh, Hastings and Brighton Fringe in 2024, they’re currently on a summer tour of the West Country previewing the show before heading back to Edinburgh for the 2025 festival.
The show imagines what would happen if a group of quintessential British holidaymakers were to have to spend their holiday in hell – and it’s an extremely well observed comedy focusing on their exploits, playing on the typical behaviours Brits abroad have been attributed, both good and bad. The team behind the show have made recognisable caricatures of the archetypal British tourist, and with the current protests around mass tourism in countries such as Spain, this show is particularly pertinent. At its core, the show takes aspects of how Brits conduct themselves overseas and exaggerates them, leading to hilarious consequences and all manner of slapstick scenarios. The audience quickly took to the characters thanks to the wit of the actors as well as a shared willingness to laugh at themselves – a necessity for a show like this.
The actors play multiple parts between them and the transitions between characters were always on point, carried off with great humour and eliciting every comedy nuance. The actors were ably supported by Tim Karp, who brought his impressive guitar playing to the piece with well-timed songs at appropriate moments: expect renditions of Sweet Caroline, Vindaloo and a whole host of summer tunes to set the holiday vibe. As you would expect, the show takes aim at the eccentricities of British society, including jokes about Brits’ love for queueing, not wishing to complain about anything and the age-old argument around jam or cream first on your scone. The creative team have managed to pack in the jokes, which come thick and fast, and I was impressed that the comedy never felt over the top or overstated.
The show was delivered with a surprisingly sharp satirical style, including witty anecdotes around guests having to share rooms with certain well-known politicians, ridiculous charges for airline baggage fees and of course the one topic that will always get us talking – the weather. This original concept with its clever reflections made for a great night. If you’re heading to Edinburgh Fringe this year, I would put this show near the top of your list!