REVIEW: Last Laugh, Third Sister Entertainment, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★

Last Laugh is tricky. Like much of what I’ve caught at Zoo Playground, it is ambitious to almost absurd proportions. And it comes across as profoundly improv. But it is also so warm, so funny and so clever that it functions as a beautifully fringe piece of theatre. 

It starts as an improvised show where something is not quite right. There are rumblings outside: aliens have invaded the planet. There’s something very Mr Burns about the affair — even at the end of the world, here are two people performing theatre.

Bee has written a play, but her and Alice are performing this improv instead. The play is about the golden record, that thing Carl Sagan sent out into space to tell people about our species. The play’s also about two friends who cause hurt to their spouses because they truly love each other (in that way). The improv is flat, but it’s because Alice and Bee are lying to themselves — sometimes, art is aching to be sad. 

Pimprenelle Noël and Lydia Sims are lovely quick-thinkers, and their performances develop into something really sophisticated and tender as the stakes rise. The drama of this work is understated, despite our characters facing a matter of life or death. Conversely, the improv comedy is perhaps overstated but it does serve the play well. Maybe I would’ve liked to see more of Bee’s play. 

An alien invasion being the catastrophe leads to a moment of genuine pathos in the end, but the effect is rather general. It means that the performance is never fully politicised, and it’s not to its detriment but it is something to note. An alien saying “you have not been kind to your planet” is moving, but the baggage behind that is more nuanced. 

I say all this because the play in its current form is hugely moving. Last Laugh is performed handsomely and lures you into the strange and sad world the performers build for you, brilliantly directed by Elena Messinger. Zoe Redlich’s writing is a mad, beautiful statement on humanity.

Last Laugh is described as a ‘zealous eulogy to live performance’ and eulogy is certainly the register: profoundly beautiful mourning that characterises the deepest wells of art. A dance is strange, tender, and loving, whispered conversations, and declarations at the end of life are the moments we wanted to but could never say. 

This is brilliant fringe theatre. It’s doing way too much. That’s the thrill of it. Let yourself be taken in by this beautiful world, this beautiful friendship, and see what secrets they share. It’s wonderful work from Third Sister, I can’t wait to see what’s next. 

Recommended Drink: It’s the end of the world, so grab your favourite drink…

You can catch Last Laugh at Zoo Playground (Playground 3) from August 16-30 (Not 18, 25) at 21.00 (50mins). Tickets available through the EdFringe box office.