Brooklyn duo tackle Gen Z emptiness in surreal late-night comedy rave
At the Edinburgh Fringe, Brooklyn performers Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly turn generational angst into a high-energy comedy show called Megasquirt: Fully Loaded. The late-night performance blends songs, sketches and satire about the search for meaning.
At Underbelly Cowgate in Edinburgh, a late-night show is transforming the venue into a pulsating, song-filled celebration with a queer-leaning aesthetic that both mocks and reflects on generational alienation. Brooklyn performers Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly bring their show Megasquirt: Fully Loaded to the Fringe, tackling the idea that life can feel empty and meaningless.
Both performers trained at Chicago's well-known Second City comedy school, and their show uses sharp songs and sketches to explore the emptiness of modern existence and the search for ways to fill it. One standout sketch takes the audience back to the performers' childhoods, portraying two parents at a dinner table using muted sounds, clinking cutlery and sighs to mask their mutual dislike for one another.
From alienation to alternatives
The show explores various responses to existential emptiness, from unconventional romance to the idea of starting a megachurch to fill a spiritual void. This latter sketch includes satire aimed at Christian homophobia and the church's preoccupation with sin, though much of the show's satire is generally overshadowed by outright silliness.
Songs about topics like being bullied in a bakery or behaviour in a DJ booth are delivered with tightly crafted lyrics and high-energy hyperpop style. The one moment where quality dips slightly is a sketch about straight female writers fetishising gay male sex — sharp at first, but it eventually slides into simple crudeness.
Overall, the show is described as witty and high-energy comedy that gives audiences a way to laugh at generational anxiety rather than simply experience it.
