Edinburgh Fringe 2026
A Traitors Pantomime
MTAO Productions
Genre: Comedy, Family, Musical Theatre
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry Street
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The wildly popular reality TV show is adapted with all its quirks into a classic pantomime farce.
Review
This play is an original fictional story set in the world of the Traitors reality TV show, it is not a retelling of a genuine episode or series arc. But, the writer did cleverly include a couple of references to previous series for fans of the show to enjoy and these went down extremely well with the audience, in particular, a reference to a certain Welsh accent. They were intentional with these callbacks though, and the script struck a good balance such that, if you’re not an avid viewer of The Traitors and simply have a basic understanding of the premise, this show is still for you!
Naturally, the fabulous Claudia Winkleman becomes our beloved pantomime dame, and this actor has potential to take this character to full drag queen levels of extravagance. His melodramatic performance style commanded the audience’s attention, and I believe that with bigger and bolder costumes and makeup, this character could transform into a true force to be reckoned with. Claudia’s sidekick – her iconic fringe – was equally funny and had a natural talent for deadpan comedic delivery. A special mention goes to their hilarious recreation of the helicopter scene that they “didn’t have the budget to include”.
Of course, this play also features a classic pantomime villain. She held nothing back – her addresses to the audience were bold and brash, her evil smirk was on point and she lapped up the boo’s from the audience with pleasure. Speaking of booing, there is plenty of audience participation to be enjoyed in this show, a key aspect of panto that cannot be underestimated. The crowd love to be involved and this script delivered. The classic “Oh no you’re not” back and forth was set up perfectly, and there were plenty of moments for “ooh’s” and “aww’s” which were very well enjoyed.
The songs in this show were also like what you’d hear in a traditional pantomime, parodies of well-known pop songs. One particular ear worm was Chappell Roan’s ‘Hot To Go’, where the spelling sections in the chorus were replaced with other seven-letter words such as ‘Traitor’ and ‘Claudia’. The quality of singing amongst the cast was high, although their voices occasionally struggled to carry over the volume of the music, and the harmonies were impressive.
Overall, this is a fun, camp show performed by a talented young cast with lots of laughs to be had. Bigger, bolder costumes and lighting would have perfectly matched the energy of the performers, which never faltered. This play is recommended for any fans of The Traitors who are up for a fun, silly time.
