EDINBURGH 2025: Review: TARTAN TABLETOP: A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS COMEDY, Bramley, Gilded Balloon, Appleton Tower

Tartan Tabletop is a Dungeons and Dragons panel show which thrives on live comedic improvisation, uncertainty and risks, which results in riotous game play. By merging the world of fantasy role-play with quick-fire wit, Dungeon Master Josh Aitken steers the action by narrating the story, setting challenges and plays all the non-player characters. The unpredictable nature of a giant twenty-sided dice is thrown by an audience member called Colin, who seems at ease, with a great knowledge of D&D. 

The set-up is simple, four eccentric adventurers embark on a perilous sea-bound quest, guided and often derailed by their dice rolls. Alex Bathe appears as the noble Talios, a character he informs us is a vibrant blue and an old favourite of his, while Niall Curran embraces a delightfully bizarre take on Iago, not from Shakespeare but from Aladdin. Jack Sullivan’s creation, Ickburt McSquirt the octopus, provides surreal flourishes, while Finn McLachlan’s Noblin the Goblin proves a hapless scene-stealer, regaling the crew with tales of a fatally lost wife and a special sourdough recipe.

What lifts this show is the sense of camaraderie between the players and their ability to weave spontaneous narrative threads into a coherent yet chaotic tapestry. One moment the crew are battling storm clouds, the next they are making puns about tax via the HMRrrrrr C. By disguising themselves to fool advancing Red Coats they successfully evade detection. An inevitable death of Iago and resurrection via his cousin Iagoo, are played with relished absurdity, ensuring the story never falters.

Dramatic background music underscores the adventure, unpredictability being key to the charm, but we only travel as far as the jungle, with the next chapter to be posted on social media.

Tartan Tabletop is a lively, inventive show which rewards both devoteecs and newcomers alike, embracing the chaos to enhance the gaming campaign. Chaos, Camaraderie and comedy, this is an addictive and moreish adventure.

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