Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Excel Comedy and Mathem-antics
David Benaim
Genre: Comedy, Science & Technology, Stand-Up
Venue: Just the Tonic
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
In Excel Comedy and Mathem-antics, Microsoft MVP David Benaim transforms his mastery of spreadsheets into a Fringe show that’s part stand-up, part magic act, and part storytelling. Packed with puns, live Excel tricks, and audience interaction, it’s a celebration of nerdiness that makes office tools feel cool, while leaving audiences unexpectedly moved.
Review
You wouldn’t think a stand-up show about Microsoft Excel could make a comedian’s Fringe debut a sell out run, but David Benaim proves otherwise. As an official Microsoft Excel “MVP” (Microsoft considers him to be amongst the top 100 or so Excel experts worldwide), Benaim has found a way to fuse spreadsheet wizardry with comedy, technology, and storytelling. What could have been a one-note gimmick is instead a clever, surprising, and entertaining hour.
As we entered the cave where the show was set, Benaim is on stage, hunched over his laptop, projected screen behind him, so engrossed in his spreadsheet that it’s as if he doesn’t notice the audience is there. It’s a pitch-perfect way to set the tone: half tech-guru, half deadpan comic. Wearing an “I ♥ Excel” sleeveless shirt, he launches into a set that is 80% comedy, 20% tech demo, though the boundaries blur. His riffs mix puns, parody, and wordplay with live Excel tricks that genuinely wow the crowd. Shortcuts, formulas, formatting sleights of hand: in another context this might feel like an office meeting, but here, it’s closer to a magic show.
Audience interaction is a big part of the fun. Benaim quizzes the room on Excel solutions, rewarding correct answers with prizes. You can tell instantly who the hardcore spreadsheet fans are by the involuntary gasps of delight when he unveils a quicker way to do something. And even if you don’t know Excel, the show is welcoming. It’s pitched so that Excel nerds feel cool for once, but casual users still laugh along.
What keeps it engaging is Benaim’s confidence in knowing his audience. He rarely forces eye contact, leaning into the persona of someone who lives inside their computer, but when he does look up, we know he’s right there with us. The balance of tech focus and human connection is consistent with the subject itself.
And then, unexpectedly, the show shifts gears. In its final stretch, Benaim moves away from spreadsheets and into something more personal. Sitting on the steps, he speaks directly to the audience about his role models, history, and the values that shaped him. Without spoiling the details, it’s one of the most vulnerable, affecting turns I’ve seen at this year’s Fringe.
Excel Comedy and Mathem-antics is Highly Recommended for being funny, geeky, and sneakily moving. It’s a show that knows exactly what it is, and yet manages to surprise you with more. You’ll laugh at the puns, marvel at the shortcuts, and it might even leave you reflecting on history, humanity, and how something as ordinary as a spreadsheet can connect to much bigger stories.
