Review: A Bad Taste Show, Fringe 2025

A Bad Taste Show is a comedy sketch show that sells itself on ‘bad taste’. You’re told to switch off your phones, so I assumed that also applied to myself as press – which is why I don’t have any stage pics. But I do have some lovely ones from the group’s social media, which is a win.

Vibe

I rocked up to A Bad Taste Show not quite knowing what to expect. Was it going to be edgy? Offensive? Shocking? Was I going to laugh despite myself? Sadly, not as much as I’d hoped.

The vibe is silly, and often tinged with some darkness. I do think of myself as having quite a dark sense of humour, but for some reason it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

The show itself

A Bad Taste Show is a tightly run 45 minutes of quick comedy sketches, introducing us to a myriad of characters and scenarios – sometimes with props such as chairs and fun stuff. Oh, and you also get a free badge just for turning up! (One of the ladies sat next to me was particularly impressed by that)

So, where’s the bad taste? From a woman trying to give her baby back due to the fact it’s ‘broken’ and happened to be two weeks late, to a man with two pairs of glasses on his head and a workbench taking in an elderly mother who “just won’t die” to fix the situation, this show has both of these sketches and all sorts in between!

There’s a married couple who get each other in the mood by donning cleaning stuff/work tools and doing some ‘sexy’ moves, and a man introducing his girlfriend to his mum, who’s a dominatrix and currently has a customer round. There’s also a man who goes to a sex therapist/sexpert of some sort because he can’t get his erection to go down. Not even when thinking of Piers Morgan!

Maybe I’m just not the right person to enjoy A Bad Taste Show because to me (someone who likes their Fringe comedy shows a bit unhinged and off the chain), it… didn’t quite go far enough. It felt like the sort of silly prime time Saturday night sketch shows from the ’90s – and there’s nothing wrong with that, per se. It’s a gentle comedy, and something I think my parents would enjoy.

Overall

I’d say overall, A Bad Taste Show was well received by the audience – the gents sitting next to me in particular were having a blast. Just be aware that if you’re looking for something shocking, edgy or properly dark… this show is not it.

You can tell the performers are having a good time, though, and it’s all executed well (just like that elderly mother) and in good humour.

I really wanted to like this show; I wanted to belly laugh, to be shocked, and even just to laugh in spite of myself. Sadly, I think it’s just not for me!