REVIEW: Yes Person, Based on Kimberly, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★★

Entering the Assembly Roxy church for Yes Person is a breathtaking experience. An immersive soundscape of trickling water, birds tweeting, beeping alarm clocks, gargling, even the circus classic, Entry of the Gladiators, plays from different corners of this magnificent and serene auditorium. 

The stage is set with a cinematic sea of over-positive yellow, including a huge wave of yellow fabric gushing from upstage towards us and a plastic bag suspended in anticipation above.

Berlin-based performers Imogen Huzel and Inka Pehkonen finally emerge from within our expectant audience, pink film camera in hand as they snap a selfie. And thus we embark on this psychedelic, enthralling voyage into “yes-saying” where circus duo Based on Kimberly experiment with a deconstruction of performance and process, creating a mesmerising collage of their killed darlings, embracing what it means to truly be shameless on stage and to bring the wackiest ideas to life, for real.

Yes Person is Huzel and Pehkonen’s valiant experiment with what happens when you say yes to all of the ideas you might usually discard in a creative process. Huzel and Pehkonen candidly explain that they have collected together scenes, concepts and hypotheses from previous projects. They are going to share them with us now.

There are Bird Discos, life drawing classes and a completely mind-boggling performance of It’s Raining Men. To an eclectic soundtrack of music styles and fusions, Based on Kimberly create a chaotic yet comforting experience that feels like they’re making the thing right in front of us. Joyous and free. 

Yes Person is a refreshing blend of circus and acrobatics, clowning, sketches and performance art that experiments with form in a profoundly authentic way. To me, this is a euphorically queer show, but one that never names itself as such – rather, it feels inherently queer in its bold and unapologetic treatment of the many worlds it touches (in content and in staging), and the way it refuses to be just one thing. Is it theatre, or circus? Is it an exhibition? Why not be everything all at once? 

Huzel and Pehkonen balance each other’s energy perfectly to create a warm and curious dynamic which instantly has the audience onside. At the heart of the show is an innate togetherness, whether the pair are physically clutching each other, as they often are, or whether they’re stood on opposite sides of the stage. As handbalancing artists, they are not only impressive in their incredible strength and skill, but captivating in their silly and absurd acting, dancing, singing and even drawing!

By halfway through, I was already wishing the show wasn’t going so fast… Yes Person is a piece that is certain to leave you craving more. The lighting, designed by Kenneth Danielsen, and aforementioned enchanting sound design, by Ortansia Rhastoni, elevate Based on Kimberly’s work, beautifully embracing the ethereal setting of the church. 

Yes Person‘s patchwork of seemingly distinct scenes becomes a reflective rumination on the difference between physical art (sweat, bodily risk) and visual art, which is seemingly more fixed, disparate from the artist’s body – or is it? Pushing the absurdity of the artistic process and the experience of presenting art to an audience to its extreme, Based on Kimberly bring a wild reimagining of genre to the table in this spectacular accomplishment.

Recommended Drink: A big yellow smoothie – think banana, pineapple, lemons – as yellow as you can get.

You can watch Yes Person at Assembly Roxy until 31 August at 16:30 (1 hour). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.