Lamesha Ruddock
This hilarious, kooky two-man comedy whirlwind from Nathan and Eryn, Something Like a Brother (SLAB), kept me on my toes. The show is attentive and responsive both to the audience and to each other. SLAB explores the almost transcendent friendship between Nathan and Eryn, a bond that could overcome lifetimes, competition, even the Vietnam War. You can’t help but wonder what is real and what is the show.
Originally a podcast diving into coming of age from a trans perspective and the craft of jokes, SLAB has evolved into a rambunctious variety show for your pleasure oscillating between sketches, direct address, and surreal theatrical moments.
SLAB sets its tone in the ridiculousness through Nathan and Eryn’s competitiveness over who is selling the best rocks because there simply isn’t enough space for two rock sellers in New York City. This premise spirals into slapstick comedy: throwing rocks at each other, smashing them into faces, always leaning into a bizarre world through choreographed actions and cartoon-esque tongue lapping.
The pair’s erratic, quick-fire humour is matched by their visual inventiveness. In Something Like a Brother, a projector displays a sitcom-style intro, a photo montage charting their friendship and life in NYC, setting the mood for the night’s playful chaos. SLAB lives unapologetically in a “chronically online” world from Club Penguin to Facebook Marketplace, Miley Cyrus memes, to club photos. These references build a shared cultural language that the audience is invited into, creating a performance that feels both niche and welcoming.
Nathan is the pacemaker and a very giving storyteller and Eryn plays the confident clown, masterful in his deployment of chaoticness. Together, they bring unadulterated energy to the stage rich with physical comedy from dance sequences bathed in flashing lights to déjà vu handshakes. Puppetry even makes an appearance as they fight over Roger who got caught lacking. The visual gags keep the pace varied, while the performers’ physicality and timing ensure each moment lands and if it doesn’t the amazing relationship with the Stage Manager allows for reloads.
A true highlight of SLAB is the “past lives” slideshow, where I could definitely see Eryn as Grover Cleveland and as a tectonic plate, yunno, Pangea style. Their absurd storytelling builds towards a crescendo when aliens arrive under a purple and green wash, followed by interpretative dancing with purple and green ribbons, growing into their special handshake.
Nathan and Eryn’s Something Like a Brother is an endlessly surprising celebration of friendship, the kind of performance that blurs the line between what’s scripted and what’s pure, unrepeatable chaos.
Destined for SNL. I completely believe they got scammed out of weed in Edinburgh.
You can catch Something Like a Brother until Saturday 23th at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall from 22:20 and 22:40 on select dates (50mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jasmine Silk
Phoebe Bakker
