Darkness envelops the hall momentarily. There’s a sense of anticipation in the air as a spotlight illuminates the stage; its intensity fills the space as time edges ever forward.

And then, a bunch of clowns appear. They start singing and dancing.

The opening of Send in the CLOWNS! is musical theatre at its finest and funniest. Performed by The Gray Ballet and supported by Alchemy Dance Collective, it’s no wonder everything feels tight. Of the scenes with the full ensemble, the opening one is my least favourite of the bunch. That’s not to say it’s bad, though; it’s far from it. They’ve set the bar so high throughout that, in 0/10 terms, it’s an 8.

For the rest of Send in the CLOWNS!’s runtime, its heart is in the audience interaction. I didn’t think I’d get too much of it, but, well …

During the opening, Sunshine (Grace Mezak) — one of the two main clowns — walked down the aisle parting the rows of seats, knelt next to me and rested her elbows on my legs. In a situation that occurred as quick as that, it’s hard for me to feel uncomfortable — especially as she, not even a metre away from my face, continued to sing. Her eyes darted down to the camera in my lap — at least I hope it was the camera — and asked in a sing-song tone, “Is that a crime?” before dashing away.

At this point, I’m 100% sure they all know I’m a Fringe reviewer; at this point, I’m also laughing quite loudly.

And, yes, it did feel like preferential treatment regarding audience interaction, especially towards the beginning. Himeros (Harrison Zobel), the guitar-playing clown who has been given his rabies shot, came by in two different instances: once in an impromptu photoshoot, and another where he sat in the empty chair between myself and another audience member and ruffled my hair.

Yet, the breadth of interaction shifted from myself to more members in the two front rows as the show went on.

The performers didn’t interact with people who looked uncomfortable — and even those among us with stone cold poker faces were given an out. This out, a ‘kazoo of consent’, was given to us at the beginning of the show. We were told that if we ever felt uncomfortable during any audience interactions to blow it really hard.

Innuendo aside, it highlighted that these performers did care about consent and if someone wasn’t having fun, nobody was having fun.

Speaking of the performers, they are just incredible at their art — both in physicality and comedy. Every action is imbued with spirits of virtuosos past. Of particular note are the three-piece Amelia Walmsley, Sam Matthewman, and Harry Sutton, whose acts are performed with deft precision: whether that be juggling, great physical feats, or being kicked in the balls really hard.

Yes, this show is funny. Whether that be through physical comedy, in a song, or through ad-libbed audience interactions. The latter are especially hilarious, and Sunshine is particularly witty about how she approaches these. From a tinge of lust to a whole heaping of it — she’s out to get you for the night.

It’s not at all easy to play the fool convincingly, let alone the bumbling clown. Yet they all have a unique charm to them that they sell differently, but equally effectively.

Send in the CLOWNS! is by far one of best offerings at the 2025 Fringe season. Make sure not to miss it for the world.