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Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair

 
Isabella Thompson Review by Isabella Thompson 5 Published: 13 Aug 2025 Pleasance Courtyard Show Dates: 11 Aug 2025-13 Aug 2025

Step into Luke Rollason’s weird medieval world, where the castle walls are made entirely of loo roll – and so, it seems, is everything else. It is the princess’s flowing hair, the wizard’s beard, Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs. This is Rollason at his most silly, populating the stage with fairytale misfits brimming with magic, whimsy and glorious foolishness.

Brimming with magic, whimsy, and glorious foolishness

He strides on in pink pyjamas, loo roll dispensers attached to his body with makeshift devices, and a homemade crown perched on his head. As “King Midas”, cursed so that everything he touches turns to comedy gold, he charms the audience with his deliberate attempts to win them over with his wide-eyed, bushbaby charm.

Rollason is never performative, at times hinting to the audience that a particular moment is failing, which is always met with guffaws of laughter. While this approach can be risky for some, it reflects Rollason’s commitment to clown – embracing failure and riding the wave of the audience’s energy. Whilst committed to the chaos, the production remains well paced and carefully structured. Each episode is a vivid motif from his eccentric fairytale world, with the tomfoolery dialled to the max.

The audience participation in the show is beautifully judged, with Rollason’s experience on full display. He reads the room with precision, mirroring and steering the crowd while keeping the sense of spontaneity alive. Even when he peels back the curtain, it is done with control.

Towards the end of the show, Rollason reveals a deeper layer behind his folly. Whilst making a wish as the ugly duckling (and its surrounding characters), his father’s heartfelt wish for his future slips in, stirring questions of career, happiness and self-worth. His self-anointed “king” persona swells, only to be gleefully toppled – earnest, but never for too long.

A surreal, imaginative cacophony of fairytale fun, Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair is proof that visiting Rollason’s comedy kingdom should be at the top of your to-do list.

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The Blurb:

Trained bushbaby, BAFTA winner and Disney Prince heartthrob of Extraordinary (Disney+) descends from his ivory (Fairtrade) tower to glisten your eyes with this monument to creativity, fantasy and the wishes you wish you never wished. Take a swan-dive into this physical comedy fantasia of kings and clowns and one absolutely hideous duck. 'Delightfully Daft' **** (Daily Mail). 'Hilarious and mesmerising' (Chortle.co.uk). 'My favourite show of the year' (Phoenix Remix). **** (List). **** (ThreeWeeks). Leicester Comedy Festival Best New Show nominee 2024.