Review: One Hundred Percent Badgers with Matt Hobs, Caroline of Brunswick, Brighton Fringe

(Photo Credit: Matt Hobs)

In this stand-up comedy show, Matt Hobs is here to tell you all about badgers- nothing but badgers- badger types, the bovine TB debate, the badger president, badger misinformation etc. Yes, this is only about badgers…except for the occasional hedgehog…and the foe of the badger kingdom known as the sausage dog.

This show has been around since twenty twenty five. Previews began in May at the Cambridge Fringe Festival, with the show being developed across multiple fringe and small venues across June and July. It then made its official debut in August, that same year,at the Edinburgh Fringe festival and has been touring around various venues and fringe festivals across the UK ever since. Hobs has also been developing a sequel to the show: ‘One Hundred Percent Badgers Two: Badgers Vs Hedgehogs’.

The show is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, running from the sixth to the thirtieth of August.

I’ll be honest, I ended up at this show because I had an afternoon slot free at Brighton Fringe and it sounded like such a bizarre idea for a comedy show that I was intrigued. I had no idea what to expect other than many, many, many badgers. Yes, it definitely did contain a lot of badgers, but it also contained multitudes.

It is amazing what you can do with a PowerPoint, a badger hat and a lot of imagination. The design is pretty bare bones, basically what you’d expect from a more science based stand-up comedy show. The badger themed music (which is well selected and the songs are, surprisingly, complete bangers) really sets the tone in case you were wondering what the show is about, you are reminded that it is entirely about badgers. 

Hobs’s dedication and thought proceeds with this show, he’s definitely done his research and his passion for badgers really shines through, so we end up basking in the excitement about badgers with him. Also, the pacing is so spot on that you don’t feel like you’re being badgered about badgers, nor is there any sense of information overload. 

There is a lot of tonal variation amidst really sharp, witty comedy, meaning that there is no stagnation at any point. The section about badger erotica ends up having me in stitches, whilst the discussion about the bovine TB debate, which is enlightening, has me in tears over the thought of badgers being culled. 

But we are reminded that there is hope within the badger care communities and that there are things we can do to help these beautiful badgers. This is what I loved about Hobs’s show: comedy mixed with a really important message about the joy and beauty of nature, and how nature tends to reward us when we look after it…Plus, who can resist adorable badger photos and videos? 

Hobs is a brilliant comedian with a lot of charisma and a warm, personable quality that really makes the show come together, so that the lack of audience interaction doesn’t feel jarring or particularly missed. Decidedly a comedian worth keeping an eye out for. 

In the words of an iconic song ‘Badger. Badger. Badger. Badger’, ‘One Hundred Percent Badgers’ is definitely a unique show that is not to be missed. 

***** Five Stars 

Badger count: Thirty four

Age rating: Sixteen plus

Content notes: Strong language, mentions of sickness/bovine TB in badgers, mentions of/a picture of a badger in a cage, badger themed smut fiction, mentions of animals attacking animals, mentions of badger culling, mentions of roadkill. 

For more information and tickets to upcoming shows, including performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival: https://linktr.ee/matthobs