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Doktor Kaboom: Under Pressure!

 
Paul Fisher Cockburn Review by Paul Fisher Cockburn 5 Published: 8 Aug 2025 Pleasance Courtyard Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-25 Aug 2025

Doktor Kaboom – AKA German-American science communicator David Epley – is everything you want for a family show: bright, bold, and educational in that most subtle of ways – by exciting kids’ imaginations and holding their attention for the best part of an hour. That he’s able to include one or two more risqué jokes “for the grown-ups” – nothing sexual, though; this is a clean, if rubbish-strewn, show – is a bonus.

Doktor Kaboom adds a significant amount of fun and excitement

With his cool dyed hair, bright orange jacket, and a kilt made out of a German flag, “Doktor Kaboom – Man of Science” considers himself an excellent specimen of humanity who just happens to “speak funny”. That said, within minutes he has his whole audience enthusiastically shouting out either “Ya!” or “Kaboom!” in response to a promised or delivered explosion.

That old BBC mantra – nearly 100 years ago, founding Director General John Reith defined the broadcaster’s role as being “to inform, educate, and entertain” – is undoubtedly appropriate here, but Doktor Kaboom adds a significant amount of fun and excitement to the whole endeavour. Most of the kids in the audience – and who knows, perhaps some of their parents too – are likely to have left the venue knowing much more about pressure – the titular subject of this particular show – than they did going in, and they had a great time doing so. Though doubtless they would also be a little bit jealous of the three kids – on the day of this review, Tom, Alex and Sienna – who were brought up on stage to help with some of the more impressive experiments. (Note to our younger readers: if you want to increase your chances of selection, persuade your grown-ups to sit you in the front rows.)

In Doktor Kaboom’s world, science may be dangerous – but it’s also exciting. His experiments include crushing steel with nothing more than the pressure of the surrounding air, firing ping-pong balls out of a vacuum-filled cannon, and showing the full potential force of sublimation – that’s when a substance like “dry ice” (frozen carbon dioxide) turns from solid to gas without going through that boring liquid stage. Kaboom!

Yes, there are some blatant morals “in the room” too: that it’s alright to be wrong in science, and that experiments may not always work on the first attempt, but the important thing is to work out what’s wrong and to keep going until they do – and when you succeed, the previous problems help build the audience’s anticipation. At one point Doktor Kaboom also reminds us that pressure isn’t just a physical force; that the stresses of life can bear down on any of us to the point we risk “bursting”. But, as one particular experiment proves, there is always strength in numbers; that opening up to others and sharing the load can make all the difference. You cannot be brave without being afraid.

Certainly, you don’t have to be afraid in the company of Doktor Kaboom. An informative, educational and entertaining hour is guaranteed.

Kaboom!

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The Blurb:

Be amazed by the power of pressure – and what it can teach us! Doktor Kaboom's new show is fit to burst with astonishing live science experiments, stand-up comedy and lessons in empowerment – using the physics of pressure to explore the stresses of real life. Back for a fourth year with brand-new experiments for 2025, don't miss this spectacular hour of 'perfect family entertainment' (POWShowbiz.com). Commissioned by the John F Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington DC. 'One of the most fun, educational and hilarious family-friendly shows Edinburgh Fringe has ever seen' ***** (TheatreScotland.co.uk).