In his sophomore year at the Edinburgh Fringe Max Fulham builds on his success of 2025 by adding a children’s show to sit alongside ‘Memory Foam‘, this year’s adult outing that he’s performing at The Pleasance Dome.

Fulham is singlehandedly, it would seem, breathing new life into the art of ventriloquism. (Indeed, The Wee Review’s tagging and genre sections don’t even have ventriloquism to choose from). He’s not really reinventing it, but he has done what might seem impossible, and made the art cool again.

In Monkey Business Fulham has created a new world, in an office environment, where the wearing of ties is not only mandatory it’s “THE LAW”.  And so all of his suitcase full of characters, and Fulham himself, sport an array of ties of all shapes and sizes.

His receptionist is a ball-obsessed mutt called Scruffy. A white mouse is head of IT. (Mouse. Get it?) There’s Boring John in accounts, and of course, the title character Gordon the Monkey.

He creates puppets out of scraps of paper, pedal bins, you name it, and invites his young audience on stage throughout. Although the truth is the parents are enjoying his ‘silliness and nonsense’ just as much, maybe even more so, than the kids.

The running theme is all about business success, a concept surely alien to anyone under the age of ten, and when business achievements are secured the audience is invited to ‘Post it on LinkedIn’, a social media platform that is not overfamiliar to the stated target audience.

The biggest laughs of the night are reserved for the Swiss/Floridian Global Healthcare practitioner who’s brought his kids to the show and gives Max ample opportunity to weave in ad libbed Global Healthcare gags throughout the fast paced, energetic, and frankly hilarious set.

His ventriloquy skills are obvious, but it’s his lightness of touch and hugely loveable boy next door personality that makes him such a likeable performer.

The Fringe has a new minor superstar that can surely only grow in popularity as word of mouth kicks in.

But for now those that know, know. (IYKYK!) A growing and loveable talent that deserves a huge audience in years to come.

‘Monkey Business‘ is at Dining Room at Gilded Balloon Teviot until Sun 16 Aug 2026