Tongue Twister
★★★★★ Marvellous
Pleasance @ EICC (Venue 150b): Sat 8 – Sat 22 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Greg Sinclair and Scottish Theatre Producers’ Tongue Twister from Pleasance @ EICC is a children’s show with the widest possible appeal.
Originally commissioned by Imaginate in partnership with Aberdeen Performing Arts, in association with Kloden Teater, it is a beautiful and lively exploration of tongue twisters in a variety of languages.
Greg Sinclair in Tongue Twister. Pic Matthias Kremer
Creator, co-director and performer Greg Sinclair performs in an energetic and inviting way, interacting gently and effectively with the audience.
One of the many good things about this show is that you can take from it whatever you want. While there’s a great deal going on, it isn’t overstimulating; indeed, it could be quite relaxing. The tongue twisters are put in context, with information about Sinclair’s background, but it’s never forced or unnatural. You can simply see it as fun, or you can take it as rather profound.
Greg Sinclair in Tongue Twister. Pic Matthias Kremer
Even if you just want to have something wonderful to look at, this works on that level too. The staging is brilliant, being deceptively complicated but never drawing attention to its cleverness. Large yellow circles serve both as screens for Lucas Chih-Peng Kao’s lovely video design and hidey-holes for Sinclair to change costume behind.
And what costumes! The illustrations of the various tongue twisters usually come in the form of headdresses or hats, but are sometimes more extensive, such as a house or a massive outfit that turns Sinclair into a human pom-pom. Huge credit to Sinclair, costume designer Alison Brown and puppet maker Fergus Dunnet for coming up with such a series of bewitching concepts.
Greg Sinclair in Tongue Twister. Pic Matthias Kremer
Sinclair and co-directors Lu Kemp and Hannah Venet (who is also movement director) have fashioned a show that is full of motion, colour, silliness and variety. Sinclair’s persona is engaging and playful without either talking down or becoming over-earnest.
This is the ideal family show; it’s fun for children, while the deeper message about multilingualism and internationalism, while never made too explicit, is definitely there if you want to look for it. It’s difficult to see how it could have been any better. This is recommended without reservation.
Running time: 50 minutes (no interval).
Pleasance @ EICC (Cromdale Theatre), 150 Morrison St, EH3 8EE. (Venue 150b).
Saturday 8 – Saturday 22 August 2026.
Daily (not Sun): 11.30am.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Scottish Theatre Producers website: www.scottishtheatreproducers.com
Facebook: @scottishtheatreproducers
Instagram: @scottishtheatreproducers
TikTok: @gregsinclairartist
Greg Sinclair in Tongue Twister. Pic Matthias Kremer
ENDS
