House Fly at theSpace on the Mile Review
If anyone ever asks what the Edinburgh Fringe is all about, point them towards House Fly. It’s audiences crammed into a room at the back of a Radisson Blu hotel, collectively giggling because we’ve all willingly chosen to spend an hour watching a show about a house fly’s love life in a bin. Somehow, it makes perfect sense.
Written and performed by Tess O’Shea following her training at the renowned Gaulier clown school, House Fly is an unapologetically strange piece of character comedy. We meet a fly in the final moments of her short life, reflecting on everything from mating rituals and decaying food to humanity’s increasingly bizarre behaviour. It sounds ridiculous because it absolutely is—but that’s precisely why it works.
O’Shea throws herself into the role with complete commitment. Every twitch, buzz and frantic movement feels meticulously crafted, creating a character that’s simultaneously revolting, oddly charming and impossible not to watch. There’s an infectious playfulness to her performance that encourages the audience to embrace the absurdity rather than question it.
The comedy comes thick and fast, built around clowning, physical theatre and a wonderfully offbeat perspective on everyday human habits. Looking at the world through the eyes of an insect allows O’Shea to poke fun at our own strange behaviours without ever becoming preachy. Beneath the surreal humour is a gentle reminder of our relationship with the natural world, particularly the decline of insect populations, although it’s wisely never allowed to overshadow the comedy.
What impressed me most was how confidently the show commits to its own logic. There’s no attempt to make the premise more accessible or explain away its eccentricity. House Fly simply invites you into its bizarre little world and trusts you’ll come along for the ride. Judging by the constant laughter throughout, most audiences happily will.
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. If surreal clowning and insect romance sound like your idea of theatrical purgatory, you’re unlikely to be converted. But for Fringe audiences looking for something genuinely different, it’s exactly the sort of creative risk that makes the festival so exciting.
Original, joyfully odd and packed with personality, House Fly is a reminder that some of the best Fringe experiences begin with someone asking, “What if…?” The answer, in this case, is a brilliantly silly hour that proves there’s still plenty of room at the Fringe for shows that are gloriously, unapologetically weird.
House Fly is playing at theSpace on the Mile 7th-8th at 13.25, 9th-13th at 20.45 and 24th-29th at 10.20
★★★★
Reviewed by Liam Arnold, August 2026.
