The Séance Starter Kit™
★★★☆☆ Layered
The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club (Venue 241a): Mon 17-Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Eilidh Sim
The Séance Starter Kit™ from Get Tae Collective and playing The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club is a comedy horror play which touches on elements of the supernatural.
Written by David Virgo and Ben King, concerns an on-the-skids late night tv show ‘While Stocks Last. In an attempt to stop the show being cancelled, stressed producerCharlie decides to advertise a fake seance starter kit. Which inevitably leads the characters to get more than they originally bargained for.
Adrian Jieanu, Joshua Gardiner and Sophie Keenan. Pic: Joshua Finnie
Director Edoardo Berto makes effective use of minimal staging, with added screens, to create the on-air, off-air elements of the TV show. He creates depth by making set areas where the actors are in direct view of the camera. This staging works perfectly with the Speakeasy’s tables and chairs setup, allowing the audience to act as live viewers for the tv show.
The characters are believable, with the sole focus of Adrian Jieanu’s stressed-out producer, Charlie, being to keep the show afloat. Even pretending to be an audience member, to feed into the scam they are trying to run. Tired host Gareth (Joshua Gardiner) does not fully know about the risk of the show getting cancelled, and has strong beliefs about advertising something they know does not work.
Sophie Keenan is an eccentric Jules, the face for the new seance kit, and the one going into detail about exactly what it does. Jules is a great contrast to Gareth’s negativity about the whole thing. With only one of them believing in the supernatural; the pair are effected by events in completely different ways.
Each character contrasting on and off-screen personalities, making many comedic moments and helping the cast to bounce off of each other.
an interesting layer
The production features mixed media. Some scenes are just projections, featuring a live video feed of puppets, controlled by David Virgo and Ben King, which creates an interesting layer to the production. This component, which also features voiceovers, creates another element of horror and supernatural.
Labelled as horror comedy, the horror aspects sometimes feel brushed over, as the cast’s focus on getting their laughs. As a consequence, some of these comedic moments become overdone and silly, which loses the horror element of the events happening around
The Séance Starter Kit™ is an entertaining piece of theatre that combines both horror and comedy, in a supernatural way.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club (The Speakeasy), 29-31 Abercromby Place EH3 6QE (Venue 241a).
Monday 17 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Daily (Not Sat 22): 9.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Instagram: @gettaeart
Linktree: @GetTae.
A scene from The Séance Starter Kit™. Pic: Joshua Finnie.
ENDS
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