REVIEW: Wizards of Armillaria: The Death of Magic, Dead Parrot Collective, Edinburgh 2026 ★★★★

Imagine a Dungeons and Dragons game that’s got so out of hand you end up making a stage production of it – this is near enough how I imagine Dead Parrot Collective felt tumbling together the immense amount of lore, worldbuilding, and geeky joy that they have into the final productions of Wizards of Armillaria: The Death of Magic. If you thought the title was wordy, buckle up, as the show takes us on an expansive and mythos-rich journey following the undercover Prince Quandale on a mission to stop his artificer father King Enoki from destroying the world through his industrialisation of magic.

Performed by a mammoth ensemble cast of 13, there’s an immense and impressive amount of scale involved in transporting us to Armillaria. From a bard’s tale exploring the land’s origin story, through to introducing the espionage of a Prince and his escaped mage fugitive friend Leif, the myriad cultures, races, and magical objects that have shaped the story to its fine point – an opportunity to unseat the King and save the world. It’s as epic as epic gets, and co-directors James Sharp and Connor McCord waste not a single moment of time in delving into the bountiful backstory that has clearly been crafted with much care and giddiness.

As we begin to put together our misfit band of adventurers, the story twists and turns impossibly well, taking us to an oppressive and industrialised regime called Porcini, where the local populace have become practically indentured to the King’s expanding desires to turn magic into an environmentally-destructive commodity. It’s within here that McCord’s script unpacks its true depth – exploring a vast analogy for climate destruction in our own world in this escapist mythical one. This is explored alongside concepts of gender, loss, addiction, purpose and, of course, bratty daddy issues. While there is far too much exposition involved for everyone to keep up and for things to stay in focus, you really leave Wizards of Armillaria: The Death of Magic with a triumphant and cinematic sense that is normally only achieved in the confines of major cinema.

Performances are strong throughout, with the piece almost able to define itself by its character comedy, including many great laughs along the way through euphemism and the quirky group dynamics that evolve as the party builds towards the mission’s climax. Highlights include the pair of disenchanted mages drifting towards romance in Ashlyn Bourelle’s Leif and Jordan Monks’ Anzo Azure, both build the chemistry impeccably without letting it detract from their individual hilarity and strong characterisation. Erin Clark delivers a seductive and enchanting villain in Vezaal Vizir, the King’s closest confidant, who knits a web of deceit dutifully.

At the centre, the growing friendship between Joshua Fleming’s Prince Quandale and Connor McCord’s bard Page Turnher is captivating, and both characters provide a surprisingly grounding pathos in the piece’s latter act. It would be remiss to not mention James Sharp’s Cog Steel, flanked by Megan Porter as ‘Doors’ and Erin Draper as ‘Floors’ – far from just a comedy sidepiece however, as the gang builds to a whole the piece pays weighty tribute to fantasy films, novels and stories that have come before to produce a loveable bunch of rogues on a righteous mission to save the world.

Inventive storytelling is the name of the game in this piece – with the ‘magic’ embodied by thinly-veiled performers in sparkly outfits, and a commanding performance from Andrew Lodge as the narrator Dhementriel, alongside a myriad of stage combat scenes that deftly intertwine the comedy and drama. The strongest compliment I can give is to how complete a magical world the show’s ensemble craft, and how deftly they manage to slide in big themes without them ever feeling sidelined or shoehorned in. An immersive soundscape and bold lighting cornices the piece, giving it a wholeness that is difficult to achieve tangibly on stage.

Don’t miss the last two chances to see Wizards of Armillaria: The Death of Magic before Dead Parrot Collective move onto new projects – tonight Saturday 6th June and tomorrow Sunday 7th from 19:30 at Augustine United Church in Edinburgh (90mins). Tickets are available through Eventbrite.