Demi Adejuyigbe review: An original show with true ingenuity

Edinburgh Fringe

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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️

Image: Josh Goldner

by Zoe Paskett

Is it a spoiler to reveal whether or not Demi Adejuyigbe pulls off the backflip he promises to perform in the title of his show?

Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip is a confidently original show filled to the brim with moments of true ingenuity. It’s the result of a comedian who knows exactly who he is as an artist and is therefore in total control of what we get to see. That’s the only possible way a show such as this could be accomplished.

Every twist and turn – from an absurd updated version of We Didn’t Start The Fire that had me doubled over in my seat, to an extended cameo resulting from his invitation for an audience member to punch him in the stomach, to memes and pop culture references out the wazoo – is unexpected, but a welcome sort of whiplash. Mercilessly intricate jokes come wave after wave, and I’m sitting there knowing all the while that I’ll need to see this another time (or two).

It’s a perfect example of the artfulness of “silly” comedy, showing how much “silly” comedy relies on clever writing and rigour to make something that comes across so effortlessly bizarre. I haven’t laughed as consistently and uncontrollably at any show this Fringe.

All the while, in the midst of this silliness, Demi builds up to his moment of exhibition. The moment when he’ll give the audience what they came for: the possibility of witnessing him physically wreck himself.

With this much anticipation, ultimately the question is whether the fact that he’s going to do a backflip even matters. Yes, it does, because he actually does pull off A FLIP! Sure, the building of suspense as the nucleus in itself is an interesting concept to consider. Sure, we could talk about how he pulls apart that type of comedy show that builds to a Big Moment of vulnerability and revelation, how the audience begs and pleads to watch a performer put everything about themselves on the line for entertainment, personal safety included, whether physical or emotional, never fully satisfied until we’ve seen guts spilled across the stage. Until we’ve seen something real. 

But do we learn anything real about Demi by the end of the hour? Yes, we learn that he really can and will do a backflip, on stage, every single day for a month. That’s what you should take away from reading this. Everything he promises to deliver, he does, and more. How’s that for a spoiler?

Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip at Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath) at 18:20. Tickets here