REVIEW: Pigs Fly Easy Ryan, Nonstop, EdFringe 2025 ★★★

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy went… to become a flight attendant? Airplane mode on, eye masks purchased, liquids thoroughly emptied – these two pigs are snuffling at the bit at the chance to soar with the humans in the sky, shed the stinky nature of being porcine, and shake off all that overbearing climate anxiety. Pigs Fly Easy Ryan is best described as if James Joyce and TikTok Brainrot birthed an accursed clowning lovechild.

‘Easy Ryan’ is the thinly veiled name for the budget airline the pigs choose to embark upon, and as we watch them navigate the boarding process the true nature of this piece bursts through rather nonchalantly – we’re being asked to question the impact of carbon emissions, mega-corporations, and personal responsibility in the climate crisis through this sideways down-the-rabbit hole lens. The implementation of the message is necessary but a little slender in delivery, and the sections referencing it are a little more tell-than-show.

While climate anxiety is the broader question within which this absurd concept poses itself, we also see what the creators describe as an ‘aviation bimbofication transubstantiation ritual’ – with bawdy and over-sexualised cabin crew uniforms interrogating perceptions of gender, ambition and freedom explored in the pigs desire to escape the farm, flashes of political apathy and the rise of the far right appearing throughout. It feels as though maybe Nonstop have packed a little too much into their ambitious Fringe debut to make a steady impact on the audience.

Performances from Trevor White as ‘Maya-Hee’ and Lou Doyle as ‘Maya-Ho’ (yes, from that airplane video, the top comment of which reflects this piece masterfully – “the internet used to be a fun place with cat videos and this masterpiece and not a place to be constantly reminded of our decaying world”) are presented in a dutifully preposterous fashion, with the audience dragged through this absurd world that often times feels all too uncomfortably familiar. They leap, bound, dive and strip across the stage over an hour of unending inanity yet never leave the audience on the outside.

Moments of audience interaction are carried out with laser-like focus and immersion, and only add layers and layers to this fanciful high-concept piece. There’s a genuine jaw drop moment when you see a large inflatable item appear on stage as we realise that Nonstop are going to all ends to throw us balls to the wall into the existential and manic world they’ve created. Elements of physical theatre and acrobatics are performed with skill, before of course being fancifully defiled, a reminder that the performers behind this piece are of a true pedigree breed even despite the frivolity on show.

An expansive set and production design settles you comfortably into your seat – the set being used repeatedly to create new locations that seem to exist in a dream-like surreal fashion, as we float through the clouds with these adorable and self-destructive little piggies. I’ve no doubt you’ll walk out of Pigs Fly Easy Ryan with your jaw agape and maybe a little sore from laughing. There’s plenty to love in this if you enjoy anything madcap, though it feels like fleshing out is necessary for us to connect with the deeper messages embedded within.

Bonkers and unrelenting – a true force of nature.

Recommended Drink: Press that ‘call the flight attendant’ button and pair this with a sharp, crisp Martini.

You can catch Pigs Fly Easy Ryan until August 24th at Underbelly Cowgate – Iron Belly from 20:10 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.