Review: Collaborator, Fringe 2026

Described as an ‘intimate duet’, Ockham’s Razor‘s Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney return to the stage (instead of just directing the stage), for one final hurrah. One final show, Collaborator. This is it, your final chance to see two experienced performers doing what they love together. For that reason, it felts quite special.

Vibe

I had been relatively unaware of this duo before now, so I felt quite privileged to see this intimate, tender and very personal show that felt very much like a tribute to the past 23 years of the pair working together.

We enter the Pentland Theatre on the top floor of the EICC, which is a massive venue for the small-ish audience there is. Because of that, there’s tons of space, and Alex points out we’re allowed to spread out and be quite relaxed if we want to. I pick a front row seat anyway, and he calls me ‘brave’. This is entirely unwarranted, as I find out there’s absolutely no audience participation aside from that tiny bit of pre-show chat.

Intro

Before the show really begins, Charlotte introduces it by telling us the history of Ockham’s Razor. They met 23 years ago at circus school, fell in love and swore never to work together, because “circus couples are a nightmare”. They’ve been working together ever since!

However, 11 years ago they had a daughter, and when she got to school age, they decided to stop dragging her around whilst touring, and went down the path of directing instead. Fast forward to a year ago, and someone asking if they’d retired. It felt sad. They hadn’t marked the moment, so they decided to train for one last show. This is what we’re about to see.

Performance

Collaborator is a show that takes you through what it’s felt like for the couple to spend 23 years’ working together; from the early days, to the dark days, and to the days where you just keep going anyway. Sometimes it’s masterful, other times it feels really quite vulnerable, with all the pushes and pulls required to keep the momentum going for each other.

The show isn’t pure circus. There’s no jaw-dropping, death-defying dynamic physical feats. Instead, it’s a gentle mix of circus and floorwork/physical theatre, and a couple of very experienced professionals doing their thing in an extremely capable, skilled way. Sometimes there’s an easy, relaxed vibe between the two, and others, there’s struggle, tension, support – and throughout, love and care as we really get a sense of their relationship over the years.

Each section of the show has a title introduction, sometimes with longer explanations from Mooney, and later, Harvey. The show features an original soundtrack from composer Holly Kahn and sound designer Arianna Muǹoz. There’s plenty of other visually interesting elements going on, too, including swinging pendulums and at one point, falling sand. It feels quite poignant, and at times, magical.

Overall

I enjoyed watching Collaborator, as a window into a 23-year-relationship that Mooney and Harvey have chosen to share with us. There’s a strong, honest narrative both to the story, and the performance itself between the couple feels highly authentic. It’s sentimental, and it’ll stick with me.

Wishing you both a happy retirement, Alex and Charlotte!