Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Maya Ricote: Ay Am!
BIGHEAD Comedy
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Musical Theatre
Venue: Cellar at Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Cryogenically preserved and freshly defrosted, passionate Maya Ricote, an actress with dangerous curves and a hunger for stardom, exits the refrigerator for a single day to attend her dream audition.
Review
The show starts with a grotesque Ricote appearing from a fridge. All her beauty markers are exaggerated and she takes immense pride in how she looks. In classic Mexican soap opera style mixed with ridiculous clown energy, she goes on a journey of self-discovery. The problems and characters she encounters on this journey form the rest of the show – with a whole lot of singing and dancing at every opportunity.
Ricote embodies the stereotype of an actress who’s desperate to become a star, and then turns the dial all the way to 100. She’s outlandish, absurd, outrageously silly. She’s so silly that she often makes herself laugh while performing, which makes us laugh even harder. There were simple moments of talking on the phone or sitting in a taxi that had most of us rolling on the floor laughing. It’s been two hours since the show ended and my sides still hurt.
Ricote is a force to reckon with. She doesn’t let her energy drop for even a single minute. She’s generous, joyful and wonderfully nuanced in her characterisation. She is every telenovela stereotype we know of, and so much more. In this inhuman journey of becoming a great superstar, she realises the beauty in being ordinary and embraces it in one of the most extraordinary ways you’ll see in theatre. Dan Lees, the director of the show, brings Ricote’s wild energy into a solid container which allows us to safely enjoy the courage, heart and beauty of this woman.
I wonder what made Ricote and Lees choose this ending. The mask of Ricote, with exaggerated curves, luscious long hair and a red dress worked so well, that it felt almost disheartening to see it get dismantled. Even though Ricote keeps the energy alive and doesn’t drop the mask with the costume shift, the visual change is too drastic and I wonder if the creators took the idea of self-discovery too literally. Is it possible for the grotesque Maya Ricote to let go of her dreams and embrace ordinariness?
Ay Am! is clowning at its best. There were moments when our connection with Ricote was so deep and honest that laughter wasn’t necessary. I stayed in awe of her, just sitting there and admiring the ridiculous humanity that she performed for us. Most people left the room with an admiration for what Maya can do, and for the epic silliness of the desires we so often sweat over.
