EDINBURGH 2015 - BWW Reviews: GET YOUR OWN BACK: LIVE!, Gilded Balloon, August 29 2015

Get Your Own Back was the ultimate revenge fantasy for kids. The anarchic gameshow, presided over by the ever-genial Dave Benson Phillips, featured young people competing in It's A Knockout style games for the chance to humiliate an adult figure who had wronged them, whether by breaking a promise to take them to a football game, or by giving them too much homework at school. The final humiliation came in the form of the Gunk Dunk, where the adult was propelled into a tank of perennial nineties favourite - multicoloured gunge.

Truly, playing to the Buzzfeed generation of nostalgia fans seems to be a winning theme at the Fringe, with Get Your Own Back: Live! following in the footsteps of the likes of Knightmare Live with a live action Edinburgh show. Complete with Benson Phillips at the helm, who seems hardly changed from childhood memories, all neon shirts and wisecracks and demonstrating all the energy and charm that made him a hit first time round, this is a show Fringe-goers of a certain age are flocking to experience.

It is not a facsimile of the original TV version, perhaps unsurprisingly on a Fringe budget. There are no bungee cords here, or contestants in giant novelty costumes. The challenges are simple but charming, with one in particular where the audience are just as involved as the contestants proving a particular highlight. Our contestants today were a pair of starry-eyed chaps clearly delighted at the prospect of reliving their childhood, who signed up to do the show as a 30th birthday present, versus the more traditional Fringe guests of a couple of improv performers plugging their show. It seems getting gunged is a rite of passage and a celebration of friendship now, and indeed, the challenges lead up to one team getting covered in brightly coloured slime as the audience cheer in delight.

For those who have fond memories of the show, it's a great chance to relive your childhood. For those wishing to introduce their own families to the anarchic delights of one of CBBC's finest shows, it manages to appeal to adults while also being wholly suitable for kids. Plenty of fun and a delightful reminder of a cherished 90s institution, Get Your Own Back: Live! will satisfy a need for gunge you had almost forgotten you had.

Get Your Own Back: Live! runs at 16:30 at Gilded Balloon until August 31.

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