MEGASQUIRT: FULLY LOADED to Make UK Premiere at Edinburgh Fringe
Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly bring their punk-hyperpop comedy concert to Underbelly Cowgate, directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker.
Megasquirt will present Megasquirt: Fully Loaded, an experimental comedy concert show exploring the modern existential search for fulfilment. Performances will run at Underbelly Cowgate, Jelly Belly, 5 – 30 Aug 2026.
Blending original songs, audience interaction and sketch comedy, Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly delve into the many ways people try to feel whole in an unhinged hybrid concert performance. Inspired by hardcore punk, hyperpop and dubstep, Megasquirt: Fully Loaded is an energetic flood of ‘gay brain rot' – the joyful and surreal humour of queer internet culture – set to a sickening beat, with songs such as ‘Butt of the Bread', ‘Gooning in the DJ Booth' and ‘Centaur Boyfriend'. Audience volunteers are pulled on to the stage to contribute to the chaos, from being drawn, to giving suggestions and by just eating bread – a lot of bread. Part dance rave and part parable, the show tears open the many things we reach for when emptiness hits: having a baby, a burger, a body to hold.
Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly are alumni of The Second City, the world's foremost comedy theatre and school of improvisation. Founded in Chicago in 1959, it has launched the careers of some of the most influential comic voices of the last century, among them Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi. With training centres in Chicago, New York and Toronto, The Second City has shaped the DNA of modern comedy through its signature blend of sharp character work, fearless ensemble performance, and the art of saying "yes, and." Its alumni have gone on to define Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and countless stage and screen comedies that continue to resonate worldwide.
Creators and performers Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly said, “Every day it seems as though new terrors are unleashed upon humanity. We hope our little show can be a mega squirt of hope into the hole at the core of people's soul.”
Ashley Blair is a petite 6'1" comedian, director and musician making her Fringe debut with Brooklyn-based comedy music project, MEGASQUIRT. An alumna of the Second City Mainstage, her work blends self-produced music, improvisation and absurdist sketch through an unabashed queer/woman lens. Blair is the creator, director, and composer of NYC's hit drag production, Boyband the Musical.
Drew Reilly is also an alumnus of the Second City where he wrote and performed on their NYC Mainstage company. As one half of MEGASQUIRT, he has previously written and performed in the musical How to Win an EGOT at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective. He recently completed a festival run of his short film Johnathan Appleseed. Off-Broadway he has performed in MESSY WHITE GAYS.
Kristin McCarthy Parker (director, producer, co-founder of Recent Cutbacks) is a New York-based director and producer whose work has been seen across the US, UK, and Australia. Kristin directed the Off-Broadway hit Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic and its live capture (available on Amazon and iTunes). Assistantships include Michael Greif (Far From Heaven), Trip Cullman (Choir Boy), and Wendy C. Goldberg (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?). She is also a proud company member of Broken Box Mime. This is her fourth time at the Fringe, most recently with Recent Cutbacks in the sell-out runs of Hold On To Your Butts and Fly, You Fools.
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