REVIEW: Sexatron, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★

Did I dream a (wet) dream? Crime fighting sex robots, super villains and Les Misérables make for a wild ride of a late-night theatre experience. S3x-a-tr0n is the world’s first artificially intelligent sex robot – but he wants to fight crime, from guest villains that change daily to the ultimate nemesis, The Hacker.

Through audience interaction, countless dick jokes and unexpected musical numbers, Sexatron takes you on an incredibly silly rather than sexy journey that, despite the many jokes, still makes room for moments of genuine vulnerability and connection.

Created and performed by Chicago-based comedians Journey Maranto and Gabe Sklan, this show embraces its DIY-vibe, making budget- or logistical restrictions work for it and thereby becoming all the more endearing. This is reflected in the casting choices (no spoilers but the solutions for multi-roling genuinely had me in stitches) as well as the costumes. Maranto truly is dressed as a sex robot with a mixture of metallic fixtures and sex toys attached to them, from a standard dildo where you’d expect a penis to be to fake boobs attached to their back. At various points in the show audience members are asked to touch said appendages as this helps our hero power up. However, whilst at first he insists that he does not enjoy this process (because he’s done with being a sex robot) he does eventually find a way of coming to terms with his origins. This is achieved by journey through the past after S3x-a-tr0n is infected by the Hacking Penis Virus by his arch nemesis The Hacker.

The Hacker isn’t the only villain of this play though. Before we get to meet him, we’re introduced to another villain – one that changes every night. The concept seems to be that a different creative is invited to guest star in the show every night; they interact with the audience but are soon taken out by S3x-a-tr0n, leaving behind a clue which leads our hero to The Hacker. Whilst I love this as a concept, the execution left me slightly confused; I could see the now ‘dead’ villain sitting in the auditorium with us and so expected them to make a come-back or play some further function which was not the case.

An audience member also gets to play a guest role as S3x-a-tr0n’s mentor – of course even their title was a clever sexual pun – and another character comes in the form of a puppet called Fanny. It is here that one of the musical interludes happens; On My Own from Les Misérables sung by Fanny and S3x-a-tr0n. Whilst other songs from the iconic musical are used throughout the show, this seems to be the only full rendition, and whilst some lines were changes to adapt the song to the vibe of the show, I’m not sure it was needed in its entirety. Performing a shorter version would have ticked the same box but freed up a minute or two to dig deeper into other moments of the show.

Whilst the light-hearted and utterly ridiculous vibe of Sexatron was definitely much appreciated at the late hour, I do wonder if there’s a world where the show could be developed in a way that more seriously comments on the rights of sex workers, or the relationship between sexual exploitation and artificial intelligence. However, for what it is, Sexatron is 100% worth a watch, with unforgettable characters and costumes, committed performances and more dick jokes than you could ever ask for.

Recommended Drink: Sex(atron) on the Beach – yes, the obvious choice given the title of the show but there’s nothing wrong with a classic.

You can catch Sexatron at Ivy Studio at Greenside @ George Street 7-29 August (not 16, 23) at 23:20 (50 minutes). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.