REVIEW: Those People, Lara Ciulli and Riana White, EdFringe 2026 ★★

Those People invites us to watch Lara and Riana ‘cliff-dive naked’ into an hour of absurd clowning. There’s certainly absurdity, certainly clowning, and certainly nudity, though it feels a little as though this pair should have chosen a more fleshed-out concept to dive into. A lovingly queer, utterly bonkers hour ensues, exploring the duo’s enduring friendship and possible love affair that flits between vignettes and spears pop culture among conventional ideas of romance/friendship head-on. Too often, however, it feels like we’re witnessing the in-joke behind an in-joke, rather than an accessible and relatable comedy.

An extended opening sequence played on a TV screen at the back of the stage immediately opens the themes – the duo sharing a bed and living out the mundane. It’s quite the striking contrast to what we see as the pair emerge on stage, in which they deliver an exuberant set of physical theatre sequences. There’s equal parts love and satire of the physical form used in the piece, coming across as a pointed satire of those oh-too over-exaggerated physical theatre pieces. Moments of well-devised physicality too break through into these moments. It’s evident that both are talented clowning performers, though much of these areas fall flat in delivering much other than bewilderment.

A certain pattern emerges – Riana’s persona feels inferior to Lara’s outgoing personality and way with romance, while Lara’s is too absorbed in her own wants and desires that she doesn’t see the impact of her actions on those closest to her. This is initially teased out through meta-theatre, and latterly forms the basis for another extended video sequence that bookends the piece, and feels like a padded and convoluted addendum to the live segments of the show, which offer promise, particularly in their form-breaking nature.

Moments that see the pair swinging around half-naked provide shock value but little of the intimacy setup shown in the opening video sequence. This, instead, tries to come about through the pair exploring one another’s trauma – from break-ups to parental issues – that all seems to come from a heartfelt place. These moments would land better if the pair weren’t persistently corpsing throughout them, an addition that did not appear to be a part of the broader framing device, and instead formed from a quite casual relationship to the material and blocking that recurs throughout.

Look, it’s 11pm and we’re in an attic watching a clown show – so something like this can afford to be weird and self-aware. But it needs to be gloriously weird and cautiously self-aware if it is to be celebrated.

Recommended Drink: Pair this with a Session IPA – light and bubbly, but lacking a punch.

You can catch Those People at Attic at Pleasance Courtyard until August 30th (not the 17th) from 23:00 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.