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It's Gonna Blow!

 
Ewan Woods Review by Ewan Woods 4 Published: 16 Aug 2025 Pleasance Dome Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-24 Aug 2025

The tragedy of Pompeii is well known and well covered in media, but rarely do the topics of local government and ancient tragedy come together in people’s minds. Yet Fishing4chips’ It’s Gonna Blow decides to look at the famous classical disaster in a brilliantly pantomime-like fashion, as it explores the different responses to an impending and obvious disaster.

A bombastic journey into impeding doom

Set in a city council meeting at Pompeii town hall on the day of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius, It’s Gonna Blow follows a wide variety of figures from Pompeii going about what will be their last day alive, with the audience acting as additional residents watching the meeting take place. Each cast member, despite the large amount of multi-rolling, fills their characters with bounds of life just before they are snuffed out. From Sean Wareing’s weaselly council administrator and bashful pumice protection salesman, to Freddie Walker’s local farmer desperate to find out who has messed with his bins, and the suspiciously similar looking husband-and-wife pair – each character is as distinct and bombastic as the last, and it never feels confusing as they speedily swap between them, sometimes in what feels like seconds.

The plot, although somewhat simple, moves things along excellently. As the show explores how the rich try to escape the island while leaving the common audience members to burn, it is the strength of the audience work that turns what could have been a fairly basic structure into such a fun time. Yasmine Meaden’s extreme environmentalist parody and Elinor Solly’s mime pull the audience literally onto the stage in a way that never feels forced but earns every laugh it gets.

It’s Gonna Blow covers a lot of ground in its hour. With hordes of distinct characters, brilliant audience interaction and clever use of the audience’s awareness of the impending doom to heighten the hilarity of bureaucratic failure, Fishing4chips have created a unique experience – as much fun to (somewhat) star in as it is to watch the insanity unfold.

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The Blurb:

Pompeii. 79 AD. Volcano Day. Join your fellow citizens for Pompeii's final public forum. As ancient arguments are aired, a dark cloud looms over the city. A dark cloud made of ash, fire and rock. The meeting soon descends into disarray as the leaders attempt to downplay the disaster. Will you believe the dismissive elite? Or can you escape the impending doom? After two award-winning sell-out Fringe runs, Fishing4Chips return with a brand-new historical immersive comedy. 'Hysterical history at its bonkers best!' (Hugh Bonneville). 'Brilliantly well-rounded historical comedy' ***** (NorthWestEnd.co.uk).