EDINBURGH 2026: Review: RACHEL FAIRBURN: VEXY BEASTS, Monkey Barrel
Rachel Fairburn: Vexy Beasts runs at Edfringe until 30 August
Vexy Beasts is the second character show from comedian Rachel Fairburn. Set in the fictional town of Harpurvale, it centres around Leanne, a hairdresser who owns the salon Sexy Beasts.
Leanne has a long-time nemesis in Julie Noone, who is now the mayor of Harpurvale. Julie has never quite gotten over Leanne beating her to the crown when they both competed in a beauty pageant in the 90s. Now, thanks to a bit of nepotism, Julie is in charge, and she’s gentrifying parts of the town.
Character comedy is a really difficult thing to get right, and Fairburn excels at it. The physical shifts of character are subtle, one small prop like a hat or sunglasses, but her entire manner changes with each different character.
Bizarrely, the best (though thoroughly awful) character is the lone male, Dean, who is the local PT in Harpurvale. Dean views himself as ‘one of the good guys’, but he’s an absolute piece of shit. What makes this so good is that you’ll definitely recognise the type and how Fairburn manages to keep a straight face I’ll never know. Vexy Beasts is absolutely jam-packed with gags, from the dialogue to the names of establishments in the town.
The through line that ties Harpurvale together is solid and Rachel Fairburn has created her own wee world filled with new characters that will definitely resemble people you’ve met and most likely worked in an office with. If you want to see character comedy done extremely well, get Vexy Beasts on your Fringe lists ASAP.
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