What’s the story?

As the annual search for Mr Boy begins anew, the competition’s long-suffering host can’t make heads or tails of the criteria, with what was once a simple comparison of physical beauty complicated by personality and feelings. In this comedic one-act by Max Prentice, the audience are tasked not only with deciding the winner of Mr Boy, but perhaps enlightening all in attendance as to what elusive quality makes a man. As six entrants take to the stage, all played by Prentice, the question becomes more all-encompassing, and ever-more absurd.

Where is it playing?

Mr Boy: The Beauty Contest For Boys plays at the Edinburgh Fringe until August 31st 2026

Tickets and information can be found here

This review was written of my own volition, having paid to attend a London preview performance.

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

Max Prentice is known to some for his comical, sometimes absurdist TikTok posts, including a recent radio mention being given to his musical theatre football chants. In Mr Boy, his penchant for off-kilter characters is on full display as both an all-American finalist-turned-presenter and the array of weird and wonderful entrants in this year’s final.

There’s a joyful stupidity long before Prentice takes to the stage, with a pre-show playlist in which he has recorded (and heavily autotuned) his own voice singing the word, “boy,” over any use of man, woman, girl, etc. Charli XCX’s “Girl, So Confusing” becomes Mr Boy‘s thesis statement as XCX and Prentice announce what we will all soon know: “It’s so confusing sometimes to be a boy.” Mercifully, after the likes of “Boy! I Feel Like a Boy!” and “Boys on Film” have played out, there is more humour to come.

With characters including A Guy at Your New Job, A Riddle Man, A Hunky, Hunky Cowboy, and A Gibbon Pretending To Be a Human, the writer-performer has given himself constant work and throws himself fully into every second. Admittedly, the script depends on its audience being open to the comedy to truly land, and there’s always the risk that a poor turnout or uncooperative crowd could derail things. Thankfully this wasn’t the case when I saw the show, and when the audience is on his side Prentice’s enthusiasm is palpable, and wonderfully so.

What the show lacks in set (a chair) and costumes (a handful of pieces, including the all-important winner’s sash) it makes up for in personality. Max leans delightfully into the stupidity of his creations, willing and able to riff off of his audience should their reactions open him up to a new joke. A limited number of moments find him interacting directly with those sat closest, including the assigning of a head judge – I had the honour in London, as “the only one brave enough to sit up front.” These brief moments bring us further into the world of Mr Boy, both the show and the pageant, as does the star’s initial entrance from within the crowd.

Tragically, this review must be a brief one. Simply put, there’s only so much to be said without outlining the plot, or listing the moments I found most enjoyable. Mr Boy is a delightful 50-or-so minutes carried off with boundless energy and an amiable willingness to just be stupid, in the most goofy and glorious way. Could some of the jokes land more firmly? Probably! And does at least one contestant’s real-life reference immediately limited his staying power should the show return? Undeniably.

But Mr Boy is great fun, and often just plan great. Uninhibited, unassuming, undeniable fun.

Final Thoughts

Daft. Deranged. Delightful.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Somehow both winningly witless and with a genuine heart to its question of what precisely makes “a boy,” Mr Boy manages to mine plenty of new laughs from a mix of familiar stereotypes and absurd caricatures. Like Max Prentice’s more out-there TikTok’s brought to life, there’s plenty here to enjoy for those who gel with his style of humour, and surely a handful of chuckles even for those who don’t.