REVIEW: House Fly, Tess O’Shea, EdFringe 2026 ★★★

Have you ever wondered if a house fly is also annoyed by you? The audience are now the ones on the wall as a wistful house fly tells us her life story before she dies. With the aid of musical numbers, costume changes, and the advice of other bugs, we witness the life cycle from maggot, to pupae, to adult fly, to human hybrid fly thing… the typical sort of milestones.

Tess O’Shea buzzes around the room giving a, surprisingly informative, breakdown of a fly’s life. This particular insect loves pastries and poop, and when she learns that humans are killing insects en masse at the detriment of their own wellbeing, she tries to stop them. She knows that humans need insects and she loves pastries so she needs humans to make them.

Did you know flies can get drunk? It turns out the life of a fly is very much like the life of a rockstar. A good deal of her life is shagging in the compost bins and eating (and vomiting on) as many sweet treats as she can handle. Although her lifespan is only two weeks, she sees a lot of the world, dodging predators left and right. She survives fly swatters, sparrows, fly spray and more, proving herself tenacious. And yet, the naive quest of the little fly also sees her exploited by a talent agent toad, addicted to cigarettes, and struggling to be heard by humanity. O’Shea’s fly is a sweet, somewhat bumbling protagonist, and the audience do feel sympathetic to the creature’s cause.

O’Shea seems to want the audience to reconsider our feelings toward our constant companions. She tells us that the Egyptians used to depict the house fly in artwork, reminding us of the long history we have with the humble house pest. The show is something of a very quick coming of age, we can see ourselves in the narrative, we are meant to empathise. This show is a plea for us to pay a little bit more attention and care to the insects we do our best to destroy.

It’s an interesting premise, and pleasantly performed. The humour relies mostly on fly-related puns and quirky situations. The character of the house fly is sweet, kooky, and fabulously costumed. It’s a fun show, but it lacks punch. The most obscure story beat, the fly becoming more human, is somewhat rushed over and leads to very little in the narrative as a whole. The first half of the show was much stronger, describing the life of an ordinary fly made into a quippy character.

This was a very sweet, actually quite educational, show. it turns out the humble house fly has our best interests at heart. In fact, the house fly becomes lovable in a way it never has before. You may even find yourself throwing away the swatter in future…

Recommended Drink: Cider, sweet and appealing to your fly friends.

Catch House Fly a ttheSpace @ Niddry St – Upper Theatre until the 29th August at 10:20 (45mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.