Edinburgh Fringe 2026
1 Pill, 2 Pill, Red Pill, Blue Pill: A Matrix Parody Musical
Becky Goodman
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Musical Theatre
Venue: Back Room at PBH's Free Fringe @ Slow Progress Records and Coffee
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
This show is a love letter to the campiness of the original ‘Matrix,’ while creating its own distinctly hilarious version of events through song.
Review
A veteran of one-woman musical comedies, Becky Goodman has returned to the Edinburgh Fringe this year with 1 Pill, 2 Pill, Red Pill, Blue Pill: A Matrix Parody Musical. Before even seeing the show, it becomes abundantly clear that Goodman is committed to the bit. She advertises the show by holding out two flyers: one with a blue pill on it, and one with a red pill on it. As the audience enters, she greets them in character and gets a few laughs before officially starting. Goodman then becomes Anderson Thomas, code name Typo, a parallel to Thomas Anderson (Neo) of The Matrix.
The musical elements are all written and produced by Goodman herself. From bouncy numbers which sound like children’s TV music to a Hamilton parody, every song is silly in both form and content, yet musically solid. Goodman also plays a sentinel named ‘Squiddy” in puppet form. Both Squiddy and Typo are likeable underdog heroes who draw in a surprising amount of sympathy from the audience for a farcical parody show. Goodman switches voices between Typo and Squiddy using a voice modulator, which switches on and off flawlessly, even during rapid back and forth conversation. In fact, all the tech elements of this show were executed by Goodman herself during the performance, with absolute ease.
She juggles all of this along with constant (successful) crowd work. Though this show perhaps attracted a particularly good crowd, Goodman has an infectiously laidback manner which makes the audience comfortable and creates a welcoming environment for participation in the show. The laughter from the audience was loud and constant. The style of humour of the show was campy, youthful, and conversational, yet was so well executed that it gave off a similar impression to more polished, old-school comedy acts.
This show is thoroughly enjoyable from the moment you get the flyer. Seeing The Matrix itself is not a pre-requisite to enjoy the show, as Goodman will find a way to make you laugh anyways. 1 Pill, 2 Pill, Red Pill, Blue Pill: A Matrix Parody Musical is essential Fringe viewing: a low-budget, handmade production which has a high impact due to pure talent.
