REVIEW: Megasquirt: Fully Loaded, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★★ 

like nothing i’ve seen before. everything I’ve been craving.

explicit, crude, never disgusting.

reckless and breakneck. never hasty. unhinged energy.

I was speechless.

But I have to write a review. The trouble is that Megasquirt: Fully Loaded is overwhelming and confusing in the best possible, a musical and theatrical experience that transcends language… language, within it, is merely one of many tools used to create a kaleidoscopic stream of consciousness that feels simultaneously like brain rot and epiphany. It was like Megasquirt had reached into the caverns of our brains, knew us intimately, yet somehow had also lived on a different planet. This show is giddily relatable and endlessly reference-able, yet incredibly niche. Self described as a ‘hybrid concert/sketch show of your wet dreams’, this truly feels like an anarchistic party more than a fringe theatre show. Nothing could stop the audience clapping, cheering, raving along… and giving a standing ovation of total wild abandon and joy at the end of a thrilling hour that felt like it had only just started.

Now I’ve gotten going, there’s of course a lot to say. Performers Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly take the stage as auteurs and clowns and a band, wowing the audience with incredible singing, rapping, choreography and sketches, revelling in their own hilarity and hysteria. Their mission: to fill the holes we all feel within ourselves, to help us become Fully Loaded in an empty world seemingly devoid of meaning or purpose. They are accompanied by an immersive, hypnotic sound design (featuring fully choreographed numbers with delirious titles like Gooning in the DJ Booth and Centaur Boyfriend) – brilliant, but this really doesn’t matter. It is the infectious chemistry and total dedication of Blair and Reilly that makes Megasquirt an unforgettable experience. And I mean an experience… 

Megasquirt: Fully Loaded is self-indulgent. Completely, agonisingly self-referential but totally and exceptionally and hilariously original to the point that no one cares about its indulgence one bit. Sometimes Blair and Reilly can’t help but grin because they know it’s just that good. It’s a profoundly ludicrous feat. But this is not a case of messing around. The art, the rave, the experience of the act is deadly serious as we all work together to recover from our collective anaesthesia and resignation to emptiness. We were told we would leave Fully Loaded, and I certainly felt full of something – ecstasy? inspiration? – when I walked home from Cowgate at 1am, that’s for sure.

Recommended Drink: A Dill Pickle Martini – briny, tangy, electrifying.

You can experience Megasquirt: Fully Loaded at Underbelly Cowgate until 30 August at 23:50 (60 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.