A night out at Reuben Kaye’s ‘The Kaye Hole’ is a night that will never be forgotten. Reuben Kaye is an extravagant performer who leans into drag as a rebellion of gender rather than solely to embrace his feminine qualities. He commands the stage, looking and feeling sexy, setting the scene of the night to follow by showing the audience a pornographic video on a phone as we settle into the whimsical Palais du Variete.

As Reuben takes the thrust stage to begin the show, he serenades us through brilliantly lyricised rock songs with a voice to be reckoned with. If Reuben wanted to be a West End performer, he easily could. If he wanted to tour as Frank-N-Furter in a professional production of The Rocky Horror Show, there’s no better person to play the role. But instead, he’s created his own path by following his passion—creating a safe, queer space for performers to play with and shock the audience simultaneously.

Reuben sets up the evening in such a way, bringing a mostly queer audience on board through cleverly written gags, various outerwear changes, and a live band with some in-jokes for performers and industry, a large part of Reuben’s crowd. The acts themselves are often less exciting than Reuben, the true star of the show, but nonetheless, we can’t help but enjoy and support them in the space that Reuben so lovingly creates.

Kicking the evening off with a charming Charlene Kaye, alongside her back-up dancers, her pink electric guitar coupled with hardcore glam girl rock, leading into stand-up comedy, is an easy way into the variety show. Through the following acts, which include burlesque performer Sikisa dancing to Ariana Grande’s “God is a Woman,” Best Newcomer shortlisted stand-up comic Dee Allum, the indescribable Dairy King, the sword-swallowing Jacqueline Furey, and nude popcorn-making hula hooper Tara Boom, the circus tent transforms from a performance space into a haven for the creative lovable weirdos of the world.

‘Kaye Hole’ is nothing short of magical. It’s a night of rebellion through positivity with some of the deepest laughs of the Fringe. Comedy, burlesque, circus and music morph together in this ineffable evening that reminds us why art is worth making in the first place.

‘The Kaye Hole‘ is at Assembly George Square Gardens – Palais du Variete until Sat 24 Aug 2025 at 23:45