A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola at Pleasance Courtyard Review
Walking into the attic at Pleasance’s Courtyard, you are greeted by a handmade fabric flag on your chair and taught a one-liner song by Daniel McVey’s Lydia, who is in charge of the village fete’s tombola.
A Foot is not an Appropriate Prize for a Tombola explores what it says on the tin: a severed foot has been found in a box won at the table, and focuses on the detective skills of Lydia as she interviews and investigates her way through the village, and maybe a satanic being. Villagers are portrayed by audience members who volunteer throughout the show, so be aware of that when attending. I will say though, that every audience member performed incredibly well, but that might be a bunch of actors catching previews before their own shows start.
Daniel’s quick-witted one-liners are the highlight of the show, encapsulating the well-loved genre of small British countryside village murder mysteries to a tee. I was a bit concerned when I noticed Lydia’s clipboard, which held the script, but soon remembered that it was still in previews and may have just gone through some changes. As it’s a one-person show with no one to bounce off, it’s better to be safe than sorry. It also worked well for the character and helped create a clearer sense of her early on in the show.
There is also the matter of the police puppet, which honestly worked a lot better than I expected. Puppetry can go either way, especially in a fringe show, and the pre-recorded dialogue was a smart choice and led to a lot of laughs as the mouth never really synced up with the audio.
The script did seem to go up and down a lot, never really feeling like it knew what direction it wanted to go in. However, the last five/ten minutes were definitely its strongest, evolving into the dark reality that those with power dare wish we never see.
A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola has the making of a small village detective classic, and if you enjoyed “The Sheep Detectives” earlier this year, this show is right up your street.
A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola is playing at the Pleasance Courtyard until 31 August as part of the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
★ ★ ★ ★
Reviewed by Kerry for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
