We might be coming late to the party with Mel McGlensey‘s gloriously silly ‘Motorboat’, given that it’s already done the Fringe rounds all over the world, including Edinburgh. Sometimes you’re there for a show’s maiden voyage, sometimes you’re floundering in its wake. But better late than never. It would have been a real shame to miss this heartful paeon to female sexual emancipation disguised as a clown show stuffed with enough innuendos to make Sid James blush.

Motorboat is a bit like a comedy Robocop; part boat, part woman, all clown. She’s a cheery, cheeky, faux-naive little vessel who decides to embrace adventure and escape the harbour she calls home, against the express wishes of her ‘Captain Daddy’.

Really, the story, such as it is merely provides a framework for McGlensey to muck about with the audience for an hour. That can be a daunting prospect for some, but Mel is so gently persuasive that everyone with whom she interacts – and that’s most of the audience – happily goes along. That can be simply being asked what kind of boat they are, or you can be entrusted with the Captain’s manual, you could be a lecherous coastguard, or you can help the show live up to its title…

It’s hard to think of a more charming presence than Mel McGlensey. This helps with some of the weird tonal whiplash the show can cause. It’s clown show for sure, but she’s obviously hugely influenced by burlesque as well. There’s a playfully sensual air to everything she does and there’s the plucking of various items from her bosom and other places. Muddying the waters further, the show is almost presented like a family show in its emphasis on play and make believe.

This could be uncomfortable, and it’s down to McGlensey’s sheer charisma and, it has to be said, sublime skill with a crowd, that it somehow works. There are however a couple of moments that are more C-word than seaward on occasion, to shamelessly filch a gag from Arrested Development. The aforementioned section with the misogynistic coastguard, although obviously intended as a pastiche of toxic masculinity, gets into sexually aggressive territory that is quite glaring given how much of a romp every other part of ‘Motorboat’ is.

Despite these very few missteps, ‘Mel McGlensey is Motorboat’ is a wonderfully mad slab of nautical naughtiness that has all the double-entendres about horns, poop decks, and cleats you could hope for. Mel takes a simple, direct, crazy concept, and fuels it with clowning, burlesque, improv, and enough seaside resort humour to power Blackpool illuminations. There’s only a few days left before ‘Motorboat’ is scuttled in favour of McGlensey’s new show ‘Normal‘ (going by ‘Motorboat’s standards, this is likely to be the least accurate show title this year) so get on board while you can.

‘Mel McGlensey is Motorboat‘ is at Pleasance Courtyard – Below until Sun 10 Aug 2025 at 23:05