Daniel McVey's A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola to premiere at Edinburgh Fringe
- Immersive Rumours
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Audience members become primary suspects in a surreal investigation at a village fete with puppetry and drag.
Photo: Miranda Spencer Pearson
In this camp and interactive murder mystery, the audience is transformed from passive observers into a revolving cast of suspects when a severed foot is discovered at a village fete. Cosy crime and cosmic horror collide as the indomitable Lydia, performed in drag by Daniel McVey, attempts to keep the ‘bunting and bake-sale’ festivities on track while navigating an absurd investigation.
As the narrative peels back the quaint facade of Greenwold Village to reveal sinister machinery at work, spectators are armed with scripts and puppets to inhabit the village's eccentric inhabitants. Delving into the unseen structures and traditions within communities, A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola is an absurdist murder mystery that encourages audiences to question how authority figures handle and distribute the truth.
Writer and performer Daniel McVey said:
With the state of the world as it is, sometimes we just need an hour of irreverent campy fun, and I've certainly had a blast creating the drag character of Lydia, and the bizarre village of Greewold with its eccentric residents. However, just because it's full of humour and silliness doesn't mean it can't also explore important themes, and in a time when power is constantly being abused by the mega-wealthy, and they are telling us to believe the version of the truth that best fits their ideology, the show's message feels vitally important. Woven into the plot and its form as an interactive murder mystery, the message of questioning what we're told by people in positions of power is as intrinsic to A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola's DNA as its absurd and ridiculous comedy.
Daniel McVey (he/they) is a writer, director, theatre-maker and stage manager from Nottingham. He has been writing for theatre for the past decade, including Gnaw and Robert (1849) at the Nottingham Playhouse. Their script, Richard of York, was a Top 10 finalist for the Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Award in 2024. This is their Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut.
A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola runs at Attic at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) from 5th to 31st August 2026 at 15:20. For more information and to book tickets, visit edfringe.com
