The Big Bite-Size Show at Pleasance Theatre: Eight Mini Dramas, One Giant Strawberry-Fuelled Delight
After 18 years at Edinburgh Fringe, this much-loved micro-theatre hit finally lands in London.
If you’re the sort of theatregoer who checks their phone halfway through Act One and wonders why all plays aren’t shorter, The Big Bite-Size Show might just be your dream night out.
Having spent nearly two decades charming Edinburgh Fringe audiences with its tasting menu of new writing, this clever concept now takes over Pleasance Theatre in London. Running from 5–15 March, the production transforms the space into a cabaret-style venue, where the cast personally welcomes you in, offers complimentary strawberries, and whisks you through eight sharply acted mini-plays, each around 10–15 minutes long.
This is theatre stripped to its essentials — story, script, and performance — delivered with just a few chairs, a handful of costume changes, and a surprisingly versatile cardboard box. What results is a high-speed emotional rollercoaster where no one overstays their welcome.
What’s on the menu?
Menu One offers a neatly balanced line-up that ranges from punchy comedy to quietly devastating monologue — and occasionally both in the same piece.
There’s the melancholy beauty of Thin Air, where Emma Bean delivers a tightrope walker’s crisis of confidence with aching vulnerability and circus-ring elegance. In Transactions, Lisa Fairfield and Andy Bell spar in what begins as a shady hotel-room encounter and ends with something far more poignant — and surprisingly touching.
Then there’s Vintage by Lucy Kaufman, a complete joy: think couple’s therapy meets Blitz cosplay. Hana Vincent and Scott Virgo play a pair of 1940s-obsessed eccentrics whose fantasy lives are so committed it’s almost noble. If you’ve ever been dumped for a GI who may or may not be imaginary, this one’s for you.
Not everything hits the same highs — Home, a space drama featuring three astronauts suffering from cabin fever (and sexual confusion), feels a little undercooked — but with each vignette lasting only 10 minutes, you’re never stuck with one tone or tempo for too long.
The Interpreter closes with a riot of diplomatic farce, thanks to Stephen Povey’s superb comic timing. By the time two fictional nations are at war over badly translated insults, it’s hard not to laugh at how close it all feels to real-life politics.
Also featured: Keeping Annabelle (kidnapping gone wrong, with impeccable Earl Grey snobbery), The Rehearsal (meta-acting on steroids), and A Quiet Table for Four, where insecure daters are tormented by the physical embodiment of their own self-doubt.
Bite-size but big on charm
What makes this format so enjoyable — besides the pace and variety — is the sheer commitment of the cast. Many of them flip between roles in completely different plays, often minutes apart, shifting from cringeworthy first dates to Cold War showdowns without missing a beat. Special mentions to Vincent, Fairfield, and Povey, who shine in completely different registers, often within the same hour.
It’s theatre for the time-poor, the drama-curious, and the delightfully distracted. You get eight plays, some strawberries, a handful of on-stage personality crises — and just enough time to go to the pub afterwards and argue about which one was your favourite.
From Fringe to capital stage
The Big Bite-Size Show began life at the Brighton Fringe in 2006, staged in a modest café no bigger than a dressing room. What started as a scrappy experiment in short-form theatre quickly caught on — and by the time it reached Edinburgh, it had found its true festival home. Over 18 years at the Edinburgh Fringe, it built a loyal following, picked up awards, featured on Sky Arts, and toured internationally. Now, for the first time, it’s playing a full run in London, bringing its signature mix of storytelling, speed and strawberries to the Pleasance Theatre.
The Big Bite-Size Show runs at Pleasance Theatre, London, until 15 March 2025, and transfers to Brighton Fringe from 3–26 May 2025 at Ironworks Studio B, where it becomes The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show — complete with croissants, coffee, and a new rotating menu of short plays.
Directors: Alexandra Worrall, Julian McDowell and Nicholas Brice
Created by: Nicholas Brice
Tickets:
The Big Bite-Size Show | Pleasance Theatre Trust
Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show – Brighton Fringe
For more details check https://www.bite-size.org.uk
Elena Leo is the Arts & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
