Edinburgh Fringe 2026
FoRT
Asking For Trouble
Genre: Children's Theatre, Circus
Venue: Assembly George Square Gardens
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Watch and be amazed as everyday objects transform into fantastical places to play and explore using ridiculous clowning, spectacular acrobatics and beautiful visual imagery. This is an inspiring and delightful new theatrical experience that you and the whole family will enjoy.
Review
What can you do with a mop, a sofa and a bucket? Quite a lot it turns out! Not just for use in the home but they can become a car, a train and a fort – and much more.
The physical theatre company Asking For trouble from Australia comprises Christy Flaws and Luke O’Connor. They specialise in creating interactive theatre for young people emphasizing play.
In FoRt their delightful non verbal characters dressed in denim overalls elicit giggles from the young audience almost immediately. Gentle and witty, they interact subtly with expressive facial reactions and physical gestures. Charming and inventive, this duo find creativity in everything engaging everyone’s imagination.
They amuse themselves in their ‘work’ as possible cleaners and – and of course the audience – by assembling everyday objects into multi layered new objects! A delightful musical score and sound effects underscores the performance throughout evoking a storm and other events. The sound and activity is exceptionally well timed and helps to create atmosphere in each different scene.
Their non threatening presence and antics are readily welcomed by the curious young audience and their grown ups. Flaws and O’Connor. have created many micro stories around a combination of everyday household objects and launch into each one instantly. The effective transitions and simplicity of their physical storytelling combined with gentle clowning is admirable resulting in the very young catching on, not missing a beat. However, the grown ups are equally entertained due to the fresh and new imagery created and clever mimed sequences.
Flaws and O’Connor are compelling performers with high level physical skills and always flowing imagination. They present quality entertainment for all ages, especially the young. They are funny especially when finding humour in unexpected things and situations. They relate to each other well with interesting characters and characteristics, peppered with mischief. Their natural look is appealing to everyone – yet there is a dynamic energy when changing props and a new story scene starts.
The full house of all ages at the performance I attended appreciated the ingenuity and creativity of the two compelling performers, who continuously moved around the stage space bringing out additional brooms and blankets to become more playful situations and integrating acrobatics and balances at the same time! They did explain briefly that while their version of an upside down ironing board may seem like a perfect vehicle or horse it should be noted that some of these items are specially built, so it’s perhaps best not to try all these things at home! However, this one hour show is sure to motivate everyone to seek out a few everyday objects such as an empty box or two to begin playing and creating when they return home! Do not miss this fascinating show that is sure to entertain, engage and appeal to everyone!
