Herald Angel award-winning performer Tom Bailey and his company Mechanimal return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Wild Thing!, the sequel to their critically acclaimed 2019 production Vigil. This gloriously silly and wildly inventive show sees Bailey attempt impressions of 48,000 species in just one hour, tackling the urgent topic of extinction with humour and heart.
Performed as a fast-paced, sound-body duet between Bailey and sound artist Xavier Velastin, Wild Thing! balances tragicomic play with moments of sadness, laughter and beauty. From the Uglyface Scorpionfish to the Darth Vader Giant Pill Millipede, the show explores the poetic and absurd names of species listed on the scientific ‘Red List’ of globally extinct and endangered animals.
Beginning with playful impressions and evolving into a mock VR safari into the body of a Bali Tiger, Wild Thing! is both a parody of digital obsessions and a theatrical extinction ritual. Bailey’s performance is inspired by a 1000km pilgrimage he undertook in 2024, bringing a deeply personal and bittersweet meditation on life in an age of extinction.
Mechanimal has built a reputation for creating theatre that is urgent and emotionally resonant. At a time when climate narratives often feel bleak, Wild Thing! offers a refreshing invitation to laugh, feel, and care.
