Megasquirt: Fully Loaded – Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Picture: Alex Brenner

Megasquirt: Fully Loaded continues at Jelly Belly at Underbelly, Cowgate until 30 August 2026.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

From the word go, sketch comedy musical Megasquirt: Fully Loaded is bursting with energy. Drawing on personal experience, established performers Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly piece together a story of two childhood friends, now thirty-somethings, trying to navigate the world around them with the ultimate goals of making their audience “whole” and leaving everyone feeling “fully loaded”.

Despite the overtly feisty title, this show is heartfelt and clever with jokes covering many topics, from overtly political to downright bizarre. The overall message shared is that the state of the world is abysmal, but we can actively use that to have fun.

Partially scripted, partially improvised, each sketch is carried by sharp and witty songs in a variety of upbeat genres. Both performers are clearly experienced singers, bringing each musical number to the stage with energy and commitment. Songs are clear, hilarious and wonderfully unpredictable in content. Not only are the numbers well executed, Blair is also a skilled rapper.

While the simple choreography is slick and physical comedy well timed, the partially-improvised conversational sketches are at risk of being a little overly messy. It is a tricky line to tread as over-rehearsed scenes could potentially risk losing the audience connection.

The pair work well together. They have strong chemistry and are comfortable on stage and with the audience. The show includes a high interaction component, so for a “fully loaded experience” prepare to get involved. Blair and Reilly work skilfully with the audience: interactions are never pressured and those choosing to take part are cared for well. The effect is one of unity, where everyone is encouraged to feel wanted and appreciated and no one is made the butt of the joke.

Megasquirt aims its load at Millennials and Gen Z and has a clear, queer element, as is demonstrated in such bangers as ‘Scholastic Book Fair’ and ‘The She/Theys At the Bakery Were Mean to Me’.

A little weird and a lot of fun for night owls looking for a romp, Megasquirt: Fully Loaded is a show not to be missed. So go along and slide into the “human soup” and “grab a spoon”.

Molly Glenn