Review: Planet of the Grapes, Fringe 2026

Peter Michael Marino brings Planet of the Grapes to Below at the Pleasance Courtyard this August for a 60-minute journey through time, space, and produce.

Originally crafted in a NYC apartment during lockdown as an interactive online digital production, this live adaptation reimagines the 1968 sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes using the Victorian art of toy theatre. The premise follows astronaut George Taylor as he crash-lands on a strange world where articulate fruit reigns supreme and mute humans, represented by corks (very cleverly designed cork puppets), are forced into servitude.

Positioned in the heart of the Fringe and just around the corner from the Pleasance’s famous cobblestone courtyard, the show offers an intriguing, family-friendly midday slot at 12:20. While marketed for all ages, the narrative layers work on two distinct tiers. Younger audience members will track the basic slapstick dynamic of humans getting into scrapes with aggressive fruit, while adults will pick up on the surprisingly sharp thematic parallels drawn from Pierre Boulle’s original novel and Rod Serling’s screenplays, touching on societal division, dogma, and human arrogance.

Masterfully Intricate Staging and Sci-Fi Satire

The highlight of the production lies in the sheer technical ingenuity of the miniature set. Marino operates a masterfully intricate setup of toys, deploying fiddly models and dynamic backdrops with remarkable speed. A leafy jungle backdrop seamlessly flips to reveal an erupting volcano, complete with red streamers on sticks to represent flowing lava. The puppetry technology extends far beyond simple props on sticks, incorporating inventive mechanics, including a standout scene featuring a flaming arrow that manages to be visually thrilling despite the tiny scale.

Characterisation is equally tongue-in-cheek. The lead astronaut, Taylor, is portrayed as a delightfully uncharismatic, problematic hero reminiscent of Futurama’s Zapp Brannigan. The production also retains minor bits of physical audience participation. Props are passed into the crowd to trigger atmospheric effects; landing a scrunched-up tissue paper snowball onto the stage from several rows back adds a charming, communal touch to the performance.

Scale, Sightlines, and the Space Between

The primary challenge of bringing a craft originally designed for high-definition camera close-ups onto a physical stage comes down to scale. While the craft is unquestionable, the minute nature of toy theatre means sightlines are critical. Audience members sitting further back or at steep side angles in the venue may struggle to catch every subtle detail and micro-expression of the corks and grapes. Action sequences such as general skirmishes can occasionally descend into simple shaking of the models, where the visual precision of the static sets slightly dilutes.

In many ways, the concept retains a digital DNA that originally thrived on screen interaction. Transposing that intimacy to a traditional theatre layout means a small fraction of the original close-up magic is lost in translation across the rows. However, as an exercise in reviving a forgotten Victorian stage craft, it remains a clever and inventive piece of work that stands out from standard festival offerings.

Overall

Planet of the Grapes is a unique, inventive Fringe outing that successfully revives Victorian toy theatre through a hilarious sci-fi lens. While sightlines in a larger room can occasionally obscure the finest micro-details of the staging, Peter Michael Marino’s fast-paced prop manipulation and sharp satirical undertones offer plenty of charm. It stands as a fun, surprisingly thoughtful midday show that caters to curious adults and families alike.