Date: 11 August 2026
Time: 9pm–10pm
Venue: Hoot 1 (Venue 108) at Hoots @ The Apex
Running time: 60 minutes
Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
Reviewed by: Bella Pirintji
Fringe Run: 7–30 August (no Wednesdays)
Ticket Price: Pay What You Can
Age Restriction: 16+
Performers: Robyn Perkins (Host), with Dr Jane Gregory, Dr Edel McGlanaghy and Dr Sam Clack.
Other notes: Comedians change daily. No two shows are the same! Names are announced on Instagram – @shrinkwrappedshow.
The most traumatised people are the funniest. Or so they say.
This is the Sad Clown Paradox, and Shrink Wrapped is exploring it live at the Fringe. What are some of the festival’s favourite funny people shielding behind their jokes?
The show is housed inside the Apex Hotel in Grassmarket and had a solid turnout for a Tuesday night. I went in knowing a bit about the concept, but purposely left the performers a surprise.
The format of the show is as follows: a real-life psychologist sits on stage while three comedians take to the mic. They take turns telling a handful of jokes and anecdotes to the audience, while the psychologist listens and takes notes. The psychologist then identifies some potential talking points based around a central theme. On this particular night, the discussion centred around ‘emotions’: how they come up and how the comedians deal with them. Finally, the show is rounded off with a group therapy session.
Host, producer and Comedian, Robyn Perkins, started off by telling us that this is, legally, not therapy. She also made it known that the show is morally sound because the comedians get paid a £20 bonus if they end up in tears.
The styles and subject matter differed between the comedians, who shared funny stories about their childhoods, parents and exes. They alluded to experiencing some milder forms of trauma and showed us some of their own toxic behaviours. The material was relatively light-hearted and, at times, a bit cheeky. These sets provided Dr Jane Gregory with discussion material for the group session, where all three comedians sat on stage together, listening to and lightly teasing each other.
Avoidant Aussie Ethan Cavanagh deflected to the other performers. On the surface, this seemed like a solid effort to interact and give each person their moment. But the psychologist ‘diagnosed’ it as deflecting, as he avoided answering questions about his feelings.
Feisty French bulldog owner Elaine Fellows spoke about her tendency to ‘panic lie’. She was also on the ball with audience reactions, showing her people-pleasing inclinations.
Similarly, Robyn doesn’t like letting people down. This was demonstrated by a story about prolonging a relationship with an evolution denier, despite being a scientist herself, all to avoid disappointing them with a break-up.
For me, Dr Jane Gregory was the star. She had a deadpan way of telling jokes and knew when to stay silent for comedic effect. She was funny, but it never felt like she was trying too hard. Her quick-witted quips even implied that “chaotic” Elaine was a sociopath and “calculated” Ethan was a psychopath, all while keeping it professional.
The group therapy provided some of the show’s funny yet endearing moments, as the comedians listened to and lightly teased each other in this improvised section. As they’d worked together before, they had chemistry and were able to prompt each other to tell relevant stories, like Robyn exposing Ethan for ditching a girlfriend who “didn’t like his duck”.
Due to the rotating cast and improvised parts, no two shows will be exactly alike. This might make it harder to predict whether the show will be to your taste, especially if you’re a bit particular like I am. Over the Fringe, Shrink Wrapped is working with three psychologists and around eight different comedians. It would be extra exciting to see the show expand its talent pool and promote each night based on who’s attending, especially if they secure some big names. The prospect of watching your favourite comedian be tested under these conditions would be ideal.
The curious cat inside me wishes the discussion aspect had gone a little deeper – it felt like we only skimmed the surface of each comedian’s ‘issues’ – but I suspect time constraints didn’t allow it. I also imagine doing this could quickly get serious and, in turn, stop being funny.
I’d recommend this show to anyone who wants a laugh. I don’t think you need to have been to therapy before to enjoy it. There was a small amount of joking about mental health conditions, but nothing felt particularly insensitive or offensive. I left feeling empathetic towards the comedians after seeing them open up and interact during group therapy. Even though the material was not particularly deep, I appreciated seeing their craft tested in a situation where they had to balance emotional openness, joviality and improvisation.
Overall thoughts: This is a really fun format with a lot of potential. With a concept as clever as its name, I could see this show reaching five stars on its best nights.
★★★★
