Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Signor Baffo
Interactive Theatre International
Genre: Children's Theatre, Clown, Interactive
Venue: Bijou at Assembly Rooms
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An infectiously silly, joy-filled slice of slapstick, Signor Baffo blends quick-witted clowning, gleeful chaos and gentle audience interaction into a kitchen-set comedy feast that delights kids and sneaks in some cheeky laughs for adults too.
Review
Signor Baffo is the story of the master chef alter-ego of a hapless and inexperienced pot wash boy, Baffo, who finds himself (when the respected head chef, Signor Figaro, cannot come to work) suddenly in charge of the whole kitchen.
Actor and clown, Josh Burton, is naturally warm, mischievous and his open style lends itself beautifully to the premise he has created. His comedy is often multi-layered and comes extremely off the cuff. Yes, there is a clear thread of story items he needs to get through but it becomes clear that this must change wildly each day as he places so much focus and care on getting each of the little ones who jump up on stage to shine and have a good time – even at the expense of dropping his own story needs. It is this attention to the audience that really endears the whole room to him and he holds us utterly in the palm of his hand from start to finish. At its heart Signor Baffo is pure slapstick comedy – falls, mimes, puppeteering and comedy sound effects make up the bulk of the comedy. Add to this the high production values, slick lighting and sound and the show really does begin to reach impressive heights.
Burton himself is a wrecking ball of pure energy and positivity. Sometimes it can be hard to get a British crowd on board with participation but he frequently had a forest of little arms raised whenever he asked if someone wanted to come onto the stage. It is to his credit that he created a safe space to be silly and the children loved him for it.
There were also points where the adults in the crowd were utterly creased up with laughter too; for example, I didn’t expect a very good Silence of the Lambs joke to make an appearance and for it to be so overt to the adults and yet also sail beautifully over the heads of the children. It takes a smart and confident performer to pull off this kind of duality.
This is definitely a must see family show and was the production that was most enjoyed by my four-year-old of all the shows we came to watch this year (probably my 10-year-old too!). It is heavily interactive in the most beautiful and gentle way. Baffo is always in tune with whether or not the children actually want to step up on stage or not and will happily adjust his plans accordingly. The children find themselves up on stage helping him to create kitchen wonders or spread the growing chaos.
Signor Baffo cooks up a perfect comedy storm and is an absolute riot of a show, he was simply adored by the children in the crowd and is well worth your time.
