Big Red comes bursting onto the stage dressed in a sequinned red leotard and drag make-up. She grapples a stool to the ground, then rises to her feet, triumphant. Big Red is the wrestling alter ego of Georgina Musgrave and is, she claims, the meanest wrestler in all of Holyrood. She’s defeated all of her toughest opponents so she’s turning to the stage instead in this, her debut Fringe hour. The show is presented in three rounds, named for a trio of her world-famous wrestling moves. But that’s where the sporting references end, and it’s not clear how much of the remainder is Big Red, and how much is Musgrave herself. 

The narrative isn’t tight, despite the neat three-act structure, with multiple detours and hard pivots between subjects that are (almost) all unapologetically explicit. From explaining why she’s not a gold-star lesbian to pondering whether she was the inspiration for Parasite, the jokes run the full gamut from audience silence to claps and snaps. This is, by Red’s own admission, a 10pm show at 5pm, so the audience needs to stick with it… and be ready to participate. A likeable, engaging and inclusive performer, it begs the question whether the persona is needed at all or if Musgrave’s natural charm could carry this alone. 

Big Red, Zoo Playground, until 24 August, 5.10pm.