Psychedelic, outrageous, hilarious. Perfectly weird, and perfectly queer. MESSY FRIENDS: PARTY FAVOURS is everything you’ve been looking for at FRINGE WORLD. Honestly, this has been my favourite show I’ve seen at Fringe this year.

As soon as the show begins, you immediately understand that every person on stage is giving this their all. The choreography is slick, sharp and synchronised. The club music throbs throbs throbs through the theatre, pulsing with technicolour stage lighting. The puppets and props are expressive, charming and creative. The costumes are bold, elaborate and, of course, more than a little bit cheeky.

This show also had some of the most unexpected and entertaining forms of audience participation I’ve ever seen. Two words: BEER. PONG. Wait, wait, I’m not done yet, two more words: STRIP. POKER. Every single element of MESSY FRIENDS: PARTY FAVOURS is so thoughtfully crafted and performed.

Each moment of the show conveys a distinct scene, which naturally connect together to form a cohesive storyline, all without a single word having to be spoken. It ends up utterly immersing you in the world of one very messy night out. You feel the shyness of a romance budding at a party, the paranoia of an acid trip gone wrong, and the bodily pains of a hangover, all from your seat among the audience. It’s fun, it’s hilarious, it’s strange, it’s confronting. And I would happily experience it again and again.

My favourite thing about drag is when it gets so experimental that it pushes the boundaries of how we think about performance, art and gender. This show is just that – it’s a joyously queer celebration of being young, making mistakes, and continuing to get up and keep living anyway. It’s an absolute pleasure to experience, especially with friends, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.