REVIEW: Creepy Boys: Slugs, Creepy Boys, EdFringe 2026 ★★★

If you are intending on finding yourself one-person show with some deeply political relevance or keen to dig your teeth into a production which serves up world class dance, then maybe Slugs isn’t the one for you. But look no further (or look the other way – nudity included in the show) if you don’t mind two adults being a little bit silly, and dancing whatever dance comes to them. But it ain’t the worm you’ll be dancing to.

The premise of the show is highly complex yet so simplistic at the same time. The team want to bring an existential piece, yet a humorous one too about ‘something’ but also ‘nothing’. They question the value of theatre and their own show in this Fringe smash-hit. The title ‘Slugs‘ becomes almost irrelevant by the end of the production, as the pair enact a series of puppet shows, live binge eating scenarios, and dressing-up routines. It is camp chaos… perhaps a little too chaotic for me at points, but the feeling that this show leaves you with is pure joy. Sluggishness is definitely not the word when you run from Summerhall and go bounding into the night.

In one hour, you are given a tour of all things imaginable (and unimaginable). Very cleverly, the pair slide through moments of sincerity. Perhaps I could have had a little more of this dark humour although moments playing with plastic firearms add to real world commentary. The show sits in a liminal space between comedy and reality, existing somewhere in between the real world and the fantasy one. Equally, much of the narrative centres around real bodies. The show is proudly intrusive and proudly trans. These two star performers, S.E Grummett and Sam Kruger, bring an open discussion to the fore. S.E Grummett, as creator and director of this show makes things perfectly personal, and distinctly backlashing at transphobia whilst maintaining comedy. The pair, always tread just the right side of the line of things becoming overtly political or rebellious while controlling a silly, whacky narrative. Let me stress, these are definitely undertones of this dreamy piece, not the central component.

The tone of the show is highly improvisational, and this is where I had a few issues. Often sections of the piece felt a little inauthentic or fresh. This show is a train, that the performers really can’t get off. Some more moments of audience participation I would have welcomed with open arms, or a more active response to the audience’s reactions. All this show needs is a little more freedom granted to the audience to test the form of this whacky piece, in the same way that this electric duo do. Nevertheless, still you are enticed and absorbed by whatever is happening in front of you. You are engulfed by the Creepy Boys: you are offered sweets and given genitalia a little too close for comfort (!)

The way that this show never takes itself too seriously is definitely its biggest strength. Often action moves at such a fast-pace, the pair become a force of nature, and an unstoppable one too. They question the audience: why they are there and even ask for donations at the end of the piece with a mock gangster shooting scene. Not my usual style of humour, these moments of looking inwardly at the production itself shine through. Perhaps a little more direction to the narrative would be nice, as moments about Joni Mitchell are refreshing though could last a little longer, or create more of a thread throughout the piece. However, in other moments this show ties up every joke perfectly. Jokes work in a cyclical fashion, and they are witty and punchy.

The music makes you want to boogie alongside the live animations, and projections making the unthinkable even more unthinkable. This show is so well-layered, that nothing — small jokes —always becomes something, as is highlighted in the show. With the dynamic sound design and live mixing, the audience are enveloped with a bouncy, freakishly funny evening with Creepy Boys.

Recommended Drink: Apple Sourz

Catch Creepy Boys: Slugs at TechCube 0, Summerhall from August 6-17 at 10.40pm (60 minutes). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.

Image Credit: Bokah Media