EDINBURGH 2026 Review: THE CRIMES OF PETE, Pleasance Courtyard
Runs until 30 August.
The regime is putting all the authors to death. As Pete is dragged away, he finds out that the reason for his sentencing: the Great Leader and all his subjects think he is a bad writer. His cellmates, a murderer and a seditionist, make sure he knows that he is indeed a horrendous novelist. Hughie Shepherd-Cross writes an unsubtle, self-serving, and too self-referential comedy about intellectual rivalry, resistance, and—very, very laterally— the value of art.
Omar Ibrahim, Freddie Cohen, Honor Santa Barnes, and Gregor Roach introduce an array of characters who come off as overdone and annoying. They are all OTT in their comic delivery. Shepherd-Cross takes the gag too far, losing grip on the tone, butTed Walliker directs with appropriate simplicity. The vision is clear and the pacing ultimately keeps you engaged, but the script lacks meaning.
We could argue that comedies don’t necessarily need to have a specific purpose, that having a laugh should be enough. However, the moment the plot features a dictatorial government and books being burned, you’d want it to say something. It’s a shame that the production opts for cheap innuendos and an only vaguely amusing brand of humour. It will work if you’re of an easily pleased disposition, but satire needs specificity.
The themes are relevant and the reflection remains just out of reach. We may venture that Shepherd-Cross may have decided to leave the audience to their own observational devices on purpose, but this play is too loose for its analysis to stick.
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