by Ed Fortune

Multi-media theatre can be very hard to get right, but Foxdog Studios appear to have found the right blend of interactive technology and comedy silliness. The Foxdog team have been a regular on the comics/gaming/geek convention circuit for years now, and with every new show, they seem to come up with new ways to tell old jokes.

Robo Bingo is their latest show, which blends audience participation with Bingo, robots, holiday snaps and a sense of silly fun to create something unique and delightful. Each audience member is invited to connect their smartphone to the show’s wi-fi. Security assurances are given in the form of ‘if we could do that, we wouldn’t be professional comedians’, but you don’t need a phone to enjoy the fun.

If you do connect to their bespoke wi-fi, however, you’ll be presented with your very own bingo card. And the chance to call Bingo. But this is not just a normal game of numbers and shouting. It has a plot because, of course, it does. And a series of mini-games. The Fox Dog team also have their own little robotic mascot who lives in their own little robot house. Hence the name of the show.

These factors combine to generate what can be readily described as about an hour’s worth of chaotic and nerdy humour. Foxdog Studios take the business of being funny very, very seriously, and that just adds to the sense that you’re getting away with something and having a lot of fun doing it. 

Fox Dog is very skilled at working the audience into a frenzy of giggles as we all wait, with a sense of geeky joy, to see who will be the next to win the game of Bingo. Or how different the next game is going to become. Or how the whole plotline with the mascot will resolve. Foxdog Studios Robo Bingo has a number of gimmicks and silly ideas, but at its heart, it’s a surreal and weird show that also happens to be deeply funny. Technology fuelled surreal British humour, an absolute joy to watch and participate in.

You can pick up tickets for the show here, and tour information can be found here.