EDINBURGH 2026: Review: BIG STUFF, Assembly Roxy
Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus bring their Canadian hit about grief, memory, and inherited clutter to the Fringe.
Who hasn't lost someone? Loss and grief are beasts we navigate daily, an unavoidable truth that hits painfully close to home after losing my dad nearly two years ago. Eventually, grieving demands sorting through the physical remains of a life. And as a hoarder, who's the daughter of a bigger hoarder, who's the son of an even bigger hoarder... there is an overwhelming amount of stuff.
This is the emotional terrain of Big Stuff. Second City alumni Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus tackle this burden of inheritance with sharp affection, transforming personal loss into a warm comedy about physical memory. The show sits right on that aching tension: do we remember someone through an object, an experience, or a word? And the biggest question of: If I let go of the object, do I let go of the person?
Directed by Kat Sandler, the show is fueled by the couple’s lived-in friction: Snieckus is the sentimental hoarder of memories, while Baram advocates for the pragmatic "dump box." Watching them navigate their contrasting grieving styles reveals a sharp, observational beat-awareness. They effortlessly feed off each other's impulses, working through their differences to make their marriage feel charming, collaborative, and deeply wholesome.
They avoid aimless improvisation by centering audience interactions on their thesis: objects as memory-containers. Weaving an audience member's teapot or sewing box into the narrative serves the story rather than acting as filler. The pacing is smooth, pivoting effortlessly from broad comedy to quiet honesty.
While it doesn't aim for radical reinvention, it succeeds through its vulnerable warmth. If you’ve ever stood in a room full of boxes wondering why you’re holding onto a broken toaster (or in my case, stacks of CDs and theatre programs) this show will leave you teary-eyed, comforted, and maybe a little more willing to let go (or in my case, go and hold the 'stuff' nearer when I get home).
Big Stuff plays at Assembly Roxy (Roxy Boxy) until 30th August.
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