Reviewed by: Fringefeed
Review by Alana Kildea | 23 January 2021

Clever, wholesome and completely hilarious: The Bakers is a show that will suit every Fringe-goer. 

The Bakers follows the story of a French bakery store run by a father and his two sons.  

This show is wonderfully unique, as the entire story is told with little to no dialogue.  The actors rely on movement and physical comedy to convey their plot, and boy, do they nail it.  The actors’ body language, expression and use of stage allowed the story to unfold with ease.  It was apparent from the very beginning of the show that these 3 performers were well trained and talented.

The story of The Bakers revolves around the loveable shop owner’s motto of “heart, hands, home”, but this wholesomeness extended well beyond the show’s plot.  The performers were inclusive and welcoming to their audience, and as a result, the audience engaged with the performers in a pantomime-like fashion. 

In fact, the audience appeared so engaged that, at times, unexpected audience participation occurred.  For example, a young audience member came on stage and tried to help one the bakers put his shoe back on!  With physical theatre comes the risk of unpredictability.  However, nothing phased these actors.  The performers displayed true professionalism at every twist and turn and managed to weave spontaneous audience interaction into the show.  Not only did this heighten the audience’s engagement, but demonstrated perfectly the power of the “yes and” principle. 

It is a true testament to the performers' dedication and hard work to have created an hour-long story, without dialogue, as seamless as this one.  It was obvious that the performers were incredibly well rehearsed and knew each other well. 

The comedy was silly, clever and entirely entertaining from start to finish.  Whoever you are, whatever you do, there is so much joy to be found in this show.