Hole! - Fringe Review

Thomas Levi
Aug 6
2 min read

★★★★☆

Built around the wonderfully absurd premise that a Christian sect survives the apocalypse by permanently wearing butt plugs to avoid being sucked into the sun, Hole! is unlike anything else you'll see this August. It evolves into an inventive, funny and unexpectedly sincere queer musical that uses its outrageous concept to tell an engaging love story.

Following "The Great Sucking", the remaining members of a Nebraska religious community attempt to rebuild their lives while clinging to the beliefs that saved them: You must wear an unlubed wooden butt plug at all times! At the heart of the chaos are Luke and Conner, two young men discovering both themselves and each other within a society where faith, fear and bodily obsession dictate everyday life. Around them swirls a gallery of eccentric characters, from the authoritarian Pastor Garth to the weird shepherdesses and the Cincinnati Daddies.

Every sound is created live on stage, turning the production into an exhilarating display of audio performance as storytelling. Piano underscoring, inventive Foley effects and comic sound design become part of the action rather than hidden technical support. A sheep is conjured from a spinning children's toy, while the rumble of a car engine somehow comes from a vibrator pressed against a plastic cup. The stage becomes both a recording studio and a playground; theatrical magic comes from the simplest objects in the right hands.

Musical numbers such as A Mother Always Knows demonstrate sharp musical writing, while Sky Fucking in the Sky embraces the show's gleeful absurdity with complete confidence. Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper throw themselves into every role with camp energy, switching effortlessly between vulnerable young lovers and an ever-expanding cast of bizarre supporting characters. Their commitment ensures that even the most ludicrous moments are played with complete conviction, allowing the emotional core of Luke and Conner's relationship to remain surprisingly grounded.

There are moments where Hole! pushes its joke a little too much. The production lingers on its anal humour long after the point has landed, edging towards vulgarity for its own sake rather than using it to develop character or story. Those sequences interrupt the momentum because the romance and community stories at the heart of the musical are considerably more compelling than the shock value surrounding it.

Even so, Hole! has earned the cult following it's already building. It's weird, fearless and bursting with creative invention, backed by two performers who clearly adore every second on stage. Put simply, Hole! is one Fringe show that will suck you in… Unless you’re wearing your butt plug!