Review: Don't Kill Daisy by Soleil Kohl (Edinburgh Fringe)
- Immersive Rumours
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
Soleil Kohl's interactive choose-your-own-adventure tasks the audience with keeping its titular character alive as they venture home from a week-long bender at a festival.
Photo: Sarah Shtern
As anyone who's ever experienced the drive back from Glastonbury on a Monday lunchtime can tell you, the worst part of going to a festival is the journey home.
For Daisy, the protagonist of Soleil Kohl's interactive choose-your-own-adventure Don't Kill Daisy, this fact is taken to an extreme, as they find themselves in a time loop, doomed to repeat their trek home from Burning Man over and over again while being relentlessly pursued by a fedora-wearing Bad Guy.
The experience begins with Kohl standing centre stage, wrapped in a bin bag and sporting wrap-around sunglasses. In these opening moments, they're the Game Keeper, who advises each audience member to select a couple of items from an eclectic collection of bric-a-brac. These items will serve as the weapons, tools and armour used by Daisy once her journey is underway, though at first glance, it seems that many will be more of a hindrance than a help.
After a brief pause (think of it as a loading screen), Daisy emerges on stage ready to begin her voyage home. Except she dies within seconds from lockjaw, respawning moments later with the memory of her previous demise. Over the next hour, little by little, Daisy begins to level up as the random items selected by the audience come into play. The audience's goal is simple: keep Daisy alive.
Photo: Mikey Prine
Throughout, the show wears its retro video game influences on its sleeve, with every level-up and death soundtracked by an 8-bit-style sound effect. On top of this, audiences have the option to return to the 'main menu' at any point, where they're able to customise their character (aka force Kohl to change outfits mid-show), watch the opening titles or ask the Game Keeper for hints.
While every performance of Don't Kill Daisy plays out differently thanks to the ever-changing line-up of items chosen by the audience, the one constant throughout every performance is Kohl's commitment to creating the most outlandishly ridiculous experience possible.
On more than one occasion on the night we attended, Kohl broke out into fits of laughter at the absurdity of the situation she'd just created for the show's protagonist, which we can only assume is a regular occurrence given the rapid-fire improvisation required to make the show work. Anyone who's seen Police Cops will know that these fleeting moments of unexpected laughter from those on stage are a joy to watch, and only ender us to Kohl's on-stage persona further.
More so than perhaps any other show at the Fringe, Don't Kill Daisy puts the audience in total control of how things unfold, and their decisions have a meaningful impact on what happens, consequences be damned.
Riotously funny, hugely interactive and full of heart, it's a wild ride from start to finish and a perfect late-evening choice for those in search of a final show before calling it a night.
★★★★
Don't Kill Daisy runs at Studio at theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9) from 7th to 15th August, and theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall - Haldane Theatre (Venue 53) from 17th to 22nd August 2026. For more information and to book tickets, visit edfringe.com
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