Sometimes you don’t need to say a word to get a laugh from an audience. The first fifteen minutes of Dru Cripps ‘Juicy Bits’ is almost completely non-verbal. Instead he commands the crowd to emit a cacophony of sound effects accompanying a series of bizarrely acted hand gestures, like a twisted Jacob Collier. Fans of his online presence will gleefully recognise this bit, but those that don’t quickly get on board. When Dru jokes that the entire hour will consist of  this, you could almost be pleased. What comes after is even better though, and proves that Dru is equally funny when he is the one doing the talking.

The crux of Dru’s show is a kind of improv musical jukebox wherein he learns details about the audience’s life, as well as their favourite genres of music, and turns them into a song using his looping machine. The performance I attended was plagued with issues. Dru’s microphone kept cutting out, his loop machine was echoey, and the hubbub of the Fringe outside regularly interrupted his careful delivery. Perhaps the biggest issue of all was any comedian’s worst nightmare: a tough crowd. 

As Dru himself acknowledges, his show relies on audience members giving him something he can work with to construct his songs. In the case of  this show, the crowd members he picked to feed off included a tight-lipped policeman, a shy twentysomething and, worst of all, a loudmouthed husband who fancied himself the real comedian in attendance.

Remarkably, Dru took this all in his stride, crafting three unique numbers from a range of  genres with wordplay so clever you wouldn’t believe it was all off the top of his head. The whole thing was made more impressive considering Dru had so little to work with, and I’m entirely tempted to come back again before the Fringe is over, just to see what else he can come up with with a more willing crowd. 

Dru’s comedy can be a bit much for some. He drags people onto stage, asks them intense questions about their lives, and demands a level of engagement many may not be comfortable with. But he is a sensational performer, and his comedy always stays light, slicing through any awkward moments that may arise. At the finale of the show, Dru made sure to get the crowd to give a round of applause for his enemy, the heckling husband. Even when the odds were against him, Dru ensured that the whole room had a great night out.

‘Juicy Bits‘ is at The Big Yurt at Hoots @ Potterrow until Mon 31 Aug 2026