Words: Berlyn Lee

4 Stars

After being replaced as the entertainment for an oligarch’s 6-year-old daughter’s birthday, String, a posh, formally trained children’s performer is incensed! Even more so when he finds out he’s been replaced by SPITTA, a self-trained rapping children’s performer who has found popularity on TikTok.

To achieve his dream of performing for an oligarch, String tricks SPITTA into a double act. The plan? Perform for the oligarch, steal SPITTA’s act, and send him into obscurity so that String can reclaim the crown as top children’s party performer! The only problem? String is actually finding that working with SPITTA is… fun! It turns out maybe they could learn a lot from each other. 

Kiell Smith-Bynoe & Ed MacArthur give stunning performances in this silly, birthday party for adults. MacArthur’s classical singing, accordion, and keyboard playing was equaled only by Smith-Bynoe’s live on-stage sound mixing, rapping, magic tricks, and even balloon animals. Much of the show involved asking the audience for suggestions, which would be worked into songs and raps, so even though the show is scripted, it had elements of improv. MacArthur and Smith-Bynoe are such talented improvisers that the script can change and grow with each performance. 

String V SPITTA felt a little slow to start and a little crammed into the hour-long confines of a Fringe show, but after it picked up, it was a joyously fun time that harkened back to the days of sing-along children’s songs at birthday parties in a friend’s backyard.

Kiell Smith-Bynoe V Ed MacArthur: String V SPITTA
Assembly George Square Studios – Studio Two
21:40
Aug 15th – 17th