Foxdog Studios @ Underbelly Cowgate

Foxdog Studios (IT consultants Lloyd and Pete) and their trusty sidekick Mr Bing (a robotic football wrapped in a Sainsbury's bag for life) have curated a multi-tiered show that goes from strength to strength in an hour of wonder and hilarity. With prizes like PAT testing labels and pieces of slate left by their landlord, who would dare miss out?

Though the premise is to play a game of bingo, the show soon devolves into chaos as the game is overtaken by a never-ending list of technical gags; everything from a stampede of frogs to a virtual jury controlled by randomly selected members of the audience, who are told to police themselves amidst the madness. 

Viewers have little choice but to marvel at the feat of engineering required to pull off such a set as this. Foxdog Studios have somehow created a comedy show immune to the traditional traps of mishaps and lost momentum – even while troubleshooting a bug live on stage. Their chemistry and cool, collected energy carries the show, so much so that viewers find themselves hoping more will go wrong, just so they can see the rest of the pre-prepared, bowling-themed technical difficulties clip.

Ultimately, however, the magic that really ties this all together is the comedic genius of this pair, and their dynamic with an audience whom they encourage to misbehave. No one can be quite sure what's coming next, but Lloyd and Pete's deadpan delivery quickly win the room's trust. And this is somewhat necessary – as someone in the front row describes it, the show can be rather stressful at points. Viewers are thrown abruptly from bit to bit until their sides hurt from laughter, convinced to give in and enjoy the whiplash performance pace. Robo Bingo is a show where anything could happen – and you root for it to do so.

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Foxdog Studios: Robo Bingo, Underbelly Cowgate (Delhi Belly), run ended
foxdogstudios.com/gigs