The Night Baker at Ventnor Fringe Review
The Night Baker, written and performed by Isle of Wight resident Giles Cooper, explores the realities of life on the bakery night shift, blending storytelling with insights from his own experience as a professional baker.
Remarkably, this was only Cooper’s second performance of the show, something you would never have guessed. Over the course of an hour, he effortlessly moves between stories of life inside and outside the bakery, with a pace that never feels rushed and storytelling that keeps you invested throughout.
From the effects of working through the night on your circadian rhythm, to navigating relationships while living on an opposite schedule to everyone else, Cooper paints a vivid picture of a life most of us rarely think about. Every sound feels amplified in the quiet hours, and by the end of the show, you feel as though you’ve spent a night inside both the bakery and Cooper’s mind.
The set is wonderfully understated, centred around a single stainless steel bakery table topped with partially prepared pastries. Early on, Cooper gives the audience a tour of the bakery, pointing out the ovens, the walk-in fridges, the provers and, most importantly, the clock. None of them are actually there, but through his storytelling it’s incredibly easy to picture the space in your mind.
Alongside the personal stories, Cooper also gives the audience an insight into the craft of baking itself. Away from the stage, he is Head Baker at The Lost Mill Bakery in Cowes, and his passion for the trade shines through. We learn about viennoiserie, the family of laminated pastries that includes croissants and brioche, and the painstaking process behind creating them. As someone whose baking experience doesn’t extend much beyond the occasional boxed cake mix, I found this genuinely fascinating. Who knew a croissant takes four days to make?
One particularly memorable moment sees Cooper recite Robert Frost’s Acquainted with the Night, a poem that perfectly captures the solitude of being awake while the rest of the world sleeps. It adds another layer to the show, reinforcing the quiet isolation that comes with working through the early hours.
I’d love to see how The Night Baker continues to develop. The overlap between Cooper’s real-life profession and his work as a performer gives the show an authenticity that’s difficult to replicate, resulting in a thoughtful, engaging and captivating hour of theatre.
★★★★★
Reviewed by Eleanor, July 2026. Disclaimer: Tickets were gifted in return for a review. All opinions are our own.
