Edinburgh Fringe 2026

Lawrence Dodd: This Can’t Be It

Liebenspiel & Novel Petals Presents

Genre: Comedy, Experimental, Stand-Up

Venue: Nook at Gilded Balloon Teviot

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

I went into this show knowing nothing but the title of it. “This Can’t Be It” sounds like the show is about some anxiety around how things are, with an expectation of what it could/should be. Dodd enters and starts talking to us with this expected anxiety, but also with deep passion for a different future. 

None of this happens normally. Or rationally. Or sanely. The entire show is so deeply silly, that this is turning out to be one of the toughest reviews I will write this fringe. Regular words will not do justice to what this show is. This show is unhinged, wild and explosively powerful. Dodd is so charming and witty that he manages to gaslight us into believing that this show will change our lives, that we’ll be different once we walk out of that room and that we will all go through an unforgettable collective experience. And the gaslighting works!

Our show was blessed with a baby who was in awe of Dodd’s presence, a very amused Micky Flanagan, and Dodd’s relatives in the crowd who were clearly very proud of him. Dodd lets the presence of these people in the crowd affect the show, even if it means to change a massive chunk of it. The show seems largely improvised and Dodd is a masterful listener and performer. He catches every breath, every rhythm, every note and makes it look like it’s been rehearsed a thousand times before. This Can’t Be It is an excellent example of presence. 

Irrespective of who is in the audience and what relationship they have with Dodd, he knows how to keep your attention. He knows how to take you on a journey, how to transform your life and bring you safely back. He knows when to dance, when to talk, when to strobe the lights and when to stop. He knows the baby in the audience likes to see him dance, he knows Micky Flanagan would enjoy the wit, he knows the woman in the front row likes to play music to his dance, he knows the guy in the back row wants to be closer to him. How can someone know it all? Were we in the presence of a superhuman who actually came there to change our lives?

It’s surprising that Dodd calls this show experimental and not clown. Of course it’s experimental, but it’s also the show with the most clowning I’ve seen so far. He ticks all the boxes of a great clown show and offers a lot more. He stays present with us and performs embodied responses to what happens in the room. He goes on a big emotional journey and takes us with him. He PLAYS (in the superlative sense of the word).

I said this in a previous review and I say it again: clowns at this year’s Ed Fringe seem to have come with a goal of making the world a better place. I assume they had a secret meeting before and agreed on this goal. How else can you explain all of these clown shows that are hell-bent on making you leave the room with your heart filled with love, empathy and kindness? 

This Can’t Be It! is definitely a must-see at this year’s Fringe. The world needs embodied cheesiness and crazy passionate clowns who will claim that their show can bring change. If you’re ever stranded on an abandoned island, trust Dodd to be there for you. He won’t rescue you, but he will make you believe you can rescue yourself. What else can one ask for from a clown show? 

To conclude, I’ll leave you with the progression of my thoughts during the show:

What is this? This is interesting, where is it going? What’s happening next? Okay, he’s continuing this, but will it go somewhere? This can’t be it! Or can it? Is this how it will be? I can’t believe what this is. Is this what it’s all about? Are we really going through this? Oh, it really is this. I can’t believe this is all it is. Of course this is what it was all about. There was nowhere else to go. This is it!

Published August 12, 2026 by Manish Ruparel