Oli Fuller
Profound performances worthy of the national theatre.
Set in a dystopian future where parents-to-be must pass a test or face getting the foetus aborted by the state, Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space? follows the story of Lily and Gareth, played by Briony Martha and Zak Reay-Barry, as an accidental, but welcomed, pregnancy pushes them into a parenting camp and brings their relationship to the edge.
Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space? is beautifully performed and directed, with none of the very heavy text getting lost. The show is engaging and the relationships felt painfully real. I also deeply admired the simple but effective staging, which used two colour changing light up blocks to set every space without getting confused or repetitive.
I also adored the inclusion of a third actor, who read all of the voice over live instead of having an intense amount of the play be pre-recorded.
Towards the end of the piece, the microphone used for this third actor was unplugged and dragged along the floor back to the tech booth during Lily’s final monologue, this was suprisingly loud and incredibly distracting. I’m not sure why this happened or if it only happened the night I was there, but it felt unnecessary and completely took me out of the scene which was disappointing during such a powerful monologue.
I also feel like the advertising here is misleading. It’s not uncommon for plays to have an unrelated title, but in a fringe environment where a lot of people are just reading the name or seeing the poster before deciding to go to the show, this has no correlation to what the poster would suggest. It is an absolutely excellent show, but not at all what I was expecting based on the marketing.
Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space? is a stunning play, and I look forward to seeing how it grows post-Fringe.
Recommended Drink: Pair this with an alcohol-free Beer, to take the edge off.
Performances of Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space? have now concluded at EdFringe 2025.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
