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Mr Chonkers

 
JP Review by JP 5 Published: 9 Aug 2025 Summerhall Show Dates: 31 Jul 2025-24 Aug 2025

“I need you to keep your expectations for what’s about to happen SKY HIGH!”

Norris is a clown’s clown

John Norris did not fail to deliver on his promise made at the beginning of Mr Chonkers. Gathered in an odd venue, Summerhall’s fitting Anatomy Dissection Room, the crowd sat in semi-circle wooden pews. Hovering above Norris, we look down at him as he performs his “entertainment showcase.” This is the container for Mr Chonkers – an odd audition with endless gags and surprises. And while there are times his show may seem like a hat on a hat – no, literally. He has a hat within a hat within a hat within a hat (and many more hats, but let me not spoil the show).

To summarise the show would be like a list of Mad Libs. From Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as a father, to an Italian boy with a love for magic, to Norris’s actual endearing love for his wife, who he earnestly applauds at the end of the show – Mr Chonkers is not formed like any other show at the Fringe.

With excellent direction from Corey Podell (Underground Monk Show, Vanessa 5000), Norris’s chaos is always tightly connected to the next bit. And in times when we may get lost, there is never a broken connection with the audience. His capabilities as a performer are captivating. With a one-second look, he cuts through the audience like a knife. The audience is the most important relationship in the show, obviously. He uses the space like a playground.

He includes circumstance in the pursuit of total presence. He tells us Summerhall is where the “art shit” happens. And while the material ranges from Norris’s impressive Chihuahua having his belly scratched to being a faceless monk with a people problem, there is a sense of artistic sincerity because of his level of acute awareness as a performer.

Norris is a clown’s clown. This phrase is not to undermine his mainstream likability in any way but rather to highlight his total mastery of the craft. There isn’t an inch of the show where he is not completely present and open to the spontaneity of live performance. He is constantly engaging with us in new and surprising ways. Edgy is too simple a word. He’s unafraid to challenge himself with every performance, and it’s a complete delight to watch.

This is an unforgettable clown show you’ll want to catch before the rest of his run sells out.

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The Blurb:

It's a solo show. A mockery and celebration of performance. Absurd. Simple. Outrageous. Stupid. Fun. It's terrible. An important waste of your time. It's great. Please strongly consider all of this information before coming. John Norris is a man whose absurd comedy is singular and oozes mountains of stupidity and silliness. Based out of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, John brings his word-of-mouth cult hit, sold-out, five-star, award nominated debut show back to the Edinburgh Fringe. Also, in 2009, he ate and digested an entire Kia Forte.