Is This Your First Crime?
★★★★☆ Criminally Funny
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39): Mon 24 – Sat 29 Aug 2026
Review by Tom Ralphs
Is This Your First Crime? playing a mid-morning slot at theSpace on the Mile, sees New Celts alumni, Long Face Theatre, deliver on both halves of their promised remit – comedy and new writing; providing a fast-paced start to the day.
Tim Flint, played by Cameron Millar, has been brought into a police station for questioning on suspicion of being the fledgling firestarter who, in a topical twist in Jonah Sorbie’s script, is suspected of four cases of arson including one on Arthur’s Seat and another on Princes Street.
Lewis McLauchlan and Cameron Millar Pic: Long Face Theatre.
Aiming to force a confession out of him are old-school cop DCI Thorn (Lewis McLauchlan) and his decidedly new-school assistants DI Wilson (Xander Arron-Gonzalez) and DI Summerville (Jed Bury). Both of these are rising through the ranks more through family connections than ability, and the same is true of police psychologist Dr Stiltskin (Jonah Sorsbie) who is related to the Home Secretary.
In best farce tradition, as Flint fails to crack under questioning, the interrogation tactics get ever more ridiculous as Sorsbie’s script ramps up the comedy while also underpinning it with a superbly observed and funny critique of the curse of underqualified nepo babies.
All of the cast embrace the comedy and know exactly how to play the script for maximum comedic effect.
a superb pastiche character
Millar keeps his composure as Flint, playing it straight as the madness grows while also leaning into early depictions of him as an incompetent potential criminal. McLauchlan captures all the tropes of the classic hard-bitten TV cop in Thorn: long overlooked for promotion and opposed to all aspects of modern policing, to create a superb pastiche character.
As Stiltskin, Sorsbie also gives a performance that gets the stereotype down to a tee: that of the bumbling public schoolboy destined for a high-powered job by virtue of upbringing rather than ability.
Xander Arron-Gonzalez and Jonah Sorsbie. Pic: Long Face Theatre.
Bury and Arron-Gonzalez make a great double act as the two overly enthusiastic junior detectives with not so bright ideas. Bury’s DI Summerville is more the cheerleader to Arron-Gonzalez’ DI Wilson. In the latter role, Arron-Gonzalez is the highlight of the show delivering a physical comedy masterclass as his mannerisms, movement, accents and energy combine to create a character who is fantastically ridiculous.
Although the production occasionally gets a little too frantic, particularly in the later stages, the directorial team of Sean Tennant assisted by Ahmad Ali Jones make the whole thing fit together, ensuring that the pace never drops and the performances bring out all the strengths of the script.
Running time: 50 minutes (no interval).
theSpace on the Mile (Space 1), 80 High St, EH1 1TH (Venue 39).
Monday 24 – Saturday 29 August 2026.
Daily: 10.35pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Instagram: @longface.theatre
Linktree: @longfacetheatre.
Cameron Millar and Lewis McLauchlan. Pic: Long Face Theatre.
ENDS
