Review: The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey, Fringe 2026

The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey is a deeply devastating show about using storytelling as a mechanism to process grief and loss, and one I was not prepared for. No, seriously; I really need to stop saying ‘yes’ to things just from hearing the name (I get bombarded with show titles thrust upon me in the lead-up to Fringe).

I cried a lot more than is wise for someone who didn’t pack any tissues, and left the Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall feeling like the show got a significant reaction out of me. I needed a chance to recover before writing this review.

Vibe

Dark fairy tale meets devastating reality is the vibe of the show, with charming and at times heartwrenching performances from the two-person cast of Joseph Zammit and Rebecca Camilleri. The moody lighting, with the bell lit up on one wall, is effective. From the many leaves of the ground, we can tell it’s autumn.

The show itself

Zammit plays the character of Magnus Coffinkey, who finds himself having to climb all the way up a church spire in a fantasy toy village, in order to fix a bell. Camilleri joins him, first as a gargoyle-type creature (with a fun mask), and later as many other characters – making her a bit of a powerhouse. She’s the narrator/author of the tale, along with a helpful character Magnus names Harmony in a cripuscular space called ‘The Gloom’, she’s the local baker, and a milliner named Laylee.

Camilleri snaps between characters so effortlessly, supported by the clever lighting changes and less smooth costume changes (a skirt, a baker’s hat). We later meet Jeremy, played by Zammit, and we begin to get a clearer picture of what’s really going on, and the terrible loss the characters have experienced in real life – and why this fairy tale is being crafted in the first place. It hurts.

Other props include a hammer, and a big wooden toy box. The hammer is used when fixing the bell, and it’s also later used by yet another character, Pain. This is when the show starts to get really quite intense, and a little uncomfortable to watch, with Zammit rolling around on the floor in agony. I had a front row seat, so I got a good view – perhaps sitting further back it may be harder to see this part, though.

The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey is a unique exploration of our coping mechanisms for grief and loss, with the fairytale eventually slipping away to expose the pain of reality and what could have been in such a raw way that I had absolutely no chance of holding back the tears. I tried, oh, I tried. So much so that it literally started to hurt in my chest a little. I could hear the man next to me equally struggling to maintain some decorum.

Overall

If you’re looking for an original show about grief and loss that explores these topics in a way you haven’t experienced before, absolutely go along. If you want to be deeply affected by a show on the theme of miscarriages and stillbirths; also go. But for goodness sake, bring tissues! Because ouch. This is the most tears I’ve shed for any show at Fringe this year, and there’s been some serious contenders.