REVIEW: How To Kill Your Landlord, DBN Productions, EdFringe 2025 ★★★★★

The Play That Goes Wrong meets Peep Show in this beautifully chaotic hour of comedy.

How To Kill Your Landlord follows the story of Joq, Burke and Harriet, a ragtag bunch of misfits, living in a house that has been bought out by their landlord, Archie, after Joq’s Grandmother died. The house is falling apart, doors are made of cardboard, the electrics is failing, floorboards are coming up, when Archie decides that they are to be evicted. In an effort to remain living in this house they decide the only option is murder, with hilarious consequences.

This play had the nostalgic feel of an early 2000s British sit com without any of the random offensive jokes. It is slapstick and silly and so deeply fun. The characters are exactly that, lovable sitcom characters, reminiscent of many of the much loved characters from 2000s sitcoms. It is like if something like The Inbetweeners was full of deeply socialist undertones.

The jokes are silly and the ensemble cast work together to create comedy excellence. From quick one liners, such as Joq’s constant attempts to create the next big thing, to running jokes that immediately become a staple of the piece, including the battle for the worst birthday present between Joq and Harriet. This show is joyous and brilliant.

The performances are outstanding, immediately creating instantly recognisable and believable characters, who work within stereotypes of who they are portraying without ever becoming a stereotype. Each character feels like they have been selected from a classic comedy and updated for a modern audience, with Joq’s Bitcoin enterpenuership replacing the classic “get rich quick scandal” charcater, and Harriet’s attempts to appease the Yummy Mummy’s. Modern Sitcoms have something to learn from this display of characters.

The production design, by Constance Comparot, really brings this whole show together excellently, creating an iconic setting for the piece reminicient of iconic rooms, such as the office from The IT Crowd, that are so instantly recognisable and burnt into the brains of any 2000s comedy fan. With doorways made of towels, walls patched together by cardboard, and the clear image of a rundown house created with just a few theatre flats. This set is instantly recognisable and memorable, and perfectly sets the tone of the piece.

This show is a complete and utter delight, classic British comedy for a modern audience.

Recommended Drink: Pair this with the Poisioned Wine.

Performances of How To Kill Your Landlord have now concluded at EdFringe 2025.