Every year it gets more and more expensive to bring a show to the Fringe. For years it’s been more and more likely that working class voices will slowly disappear from the programme. The ‘Keep It Fringe’ bursary feels like a drop in the ocean, but it should be applauded given that we’d otherwise have been deprived of the return of the delightfully eccentric Holly Spillar and her loop-pedal driven brand of politically-charged eloquence.

Tall Child takes in Holly’s route to a hardscrabble life spent in the arts from a vaguely blasphemous performance at her Christian school, to a triumphant talent show at a caravan parks. But the real focus is on her time as a nanny to the three-year-old daughter, whom she dubs ‘The Future Landlord’ of a billionaire. Potentially explosive stuff, which is why she opens the show with a song stating that any resemblance to real people is entirely coincidental. It’s a nice introduction to the show and a fine synopsis of her performance style. Might not be entirely legally watertight though.

Apart from her trusty loop pedal, Spillar’s spoken delivery is unique all on its own. There’s a lilting ebb and flow to her sentence structure – frequently studded with absolutely gorgeous turns of phrase – and an odd cadence that’s weirdly reminiscent of Danny the Dealer from Withnail and I (which sounds derogatively but absolutely isn’t).

Aided by the constant reverb from her mic that adds a very slight echo to everything she says, there’s something ethereal about Spillar, which makes her righteous class warrior side all the more striking. With her auburn hair and slight frame, she’s like Millais’ Ophelia has climbed out of the river and has some shit to say.

Speaking of the brown stuff, Holly also loves to grab hold of a metaphor like a dog with a bone, gleefully extrapolating a toddler’s curiosity for her own pooh to a society-engulfing tsunami of liquid faeces in which she forces the crowd to emotionally wallow for a comically long time. It’s evocative for sure, and absolutely disgusting (again, sounds derogatory but… ).

If there’s a down side it’s that some of Holly’s storytelling raises smiles of appreciation for its twisty wordplay and unconventional structure rather than huge laughs. And – perhaps more an issue with this reviewer’s brain than anything else – there’s something ritualistic, almost incantatory about the way her songs are slowly constructed by layers of loops. As such it’s easy to get lost in the hypnotic rhythms and rather lose the focus of the songs’ contents.

Very specific and personal issues aside, ‘Tall Child’ is a singular show that’s shot through with real class consciousness and a simmering anger without coming close to polemical. Holly Spillar has a really unique approach to comedy that’s offbeat without being zany. It’s a really interesting narrative, very well-performed, and hugely compelling in its style. Got to love the super old-school chiaroscuro lighting choice too; a dark stage and one spotlight. Lovely.

‘Tall Child‘ is at Underbelly, Bristo Square – Dexter until Sun 24 Aug 2025 at 17:45