Edinburgh 2022: Review: THE TWENTY-SIDED TAVERN, Pleasance Dome - KingDome

Dice rolling! Voting! Mad phone tapping! Shots and beer chugging! This show has it all.

As a lover of Dungeons and Dragons, this production was preaching to the nerd-choir before I even sat down.

The Twenty-Sided Tavern is different every night. The spectacle I saw involved an undead cowboy, a pint-sized supervillain, and a four-fisted fighter called Jean-Paul Humanman. The intrepid three were sent on an adventure together where they met old wizards named Jeff and Elizabeth, and a Mushroom Man called Paul (all names nominated by audience members). Their exploits culminated in a battle to the death with a feisty, slimey turtle named Boris.

This production is fantastic fun. As you enter there are a few minutes of confusion as you settle in, scan a QR code so you can play along on your phone (the signal is bad at the venue so make sure you log into the WiFi as soon as you get there), grab a dice, maybe write some stuff on a piece of paper for later use and generally gear yourself up for the beginning.

Once that is done, however, the people on stage engross you in the journey and the characters. They make you laugh and cheer and play games and throw stuff at them. Being able to vote on different aspects of the action felt inspired and was highly enjoyable, and the cast had the audience enraptured with excitement.

I really didn't want it to end. In fact, I hope to go again to see another adventure. This show is utterly excellent and brilliantly put together. I can't recommend it enough to anyone wanting a an afternoon of interactive hilarity at this year's Fringe. Which leaves me with only one more thing to add: Ale! And well met!

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