2019 - 2020. Playing fast and loose with the facts and with an original piano score composed by Mercury Award Nominee Zoe Rahman played live each night, The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel is no nostalgic bio-drama, but a hilarious and deeply moving homage to two men who changed the world of comedy forever. Read more
2018. Part history, party wild fantasy, this darkly humorous new play illuminates the drugs debate that won’t go away and examines the freedom we have to make our own choices in life, and death. A world premiere new play by Leo Butler. Read more
A pop up festival show. Two identical Shakespeares argue over who is the true bard of Avon. They brawl, shout, kick, and chase each other around the most unlikely of places. This wild, anarchic, funny and unpredictable event celebrates the ludicrous side of the English psyche. Read more
2018. Napoleon died in exile. But what if he didn't? What if he swapped identities with a lowly sailor and hot-footed it back to Paris? On the Eurostar? A comic alternative history by Told by an Idiot based on the novel 'The Death of Napoleon' by Simon Leys. Read more
2018. This project sees Told by an Idiot use our trademark working practices to tackle the lack of diversity on stage. In an intensive two week residency, a group of 12 performers, six of whom have a disability, work with us to devise new improvised evenings of anarchic spontaneity. Read more
2013 / 2015 / 2017. Physical comedy, live music, acrobatics, silly dancing and audience interaction all feature in this 'madcap little gem' (Time Out) - a show for kids and adults of all ages. Read more
2016. A dark epic comedy about delusion, vanity, and the corruption of power. Inspired by the historic search for El Dorado - the mythical city where rivers ran with gold. Read more
2016. Have a drink, take a seat...but hang on - all is not well. The knife thrower has the shakes, the twins are arguing again and the stage manager is plotting revenge. Read more
2016. A rich vein of black humour is exploded in this account of the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy. Using Told by an Idiot’s internationally celebrated theatrical invention, we glimpse into Edinburgh’s dark past to reveal this true story with universal resonance. Read more
2013 - 2015. A moving and comic exploration of the resilience of the human spirit through the prism of Shakespeare’s great tragedy, 'King Lear'. Read more
2015. A group of passengers are left stranded at a remote railway station, facing the prospect of a night in the waiting room. But when the old stationmaster warns them about the phantom train that haunts the tracks after dark, the evening starts to take one chilling turn after another. Read more
2014. A darkly funny satire looking back at 1970s children's TV shows. Custard pies and forced smiles. Welcome to Saturday morning TV… that means pie fights, buckets of water, casual sexism and thoughtless misogyny! Read more
2013. A biting satire about Gloumov, a young scoundrel who was out to the top of bourgeois society, regardless of what it takes to rise through the ranks and who he steps onto to get there. Read more
2012. Two alien worlds clashed together; the hopelessly lost generation of soldiers from the First World War were thrown into the world of 1920's shameless exuberance, where bright young things Charleston the night away. Read more
2011. The bohemian Vanderhofs firmly believed that people should follow their dreams as long as it makes them happy, while the conventional Kirbys believed in the pursuit of money and the American Dream. But when granddaughter Alice falls in love with the Kirbys banker son, mayhem ensues as values and philosophy collide head-on. Read more
2011. Examining extreme acts of violence and the lengths people will go for their beliefs, this sinister comedy of ineptitude was a funny and deeply disturbing look at how powerless we are to stop people when they have reached a point of no return. Read more
2010 - 2011. Taking as its inspiration the ink-black comic tales of Gwyn Thomas, the great Welsh storyteller and dark, hilarious chronicler of the Valleys, The Dark Philosophers was a funny, violent, and passionate depiction of a community teetering on the brink of humanity. Read more
2010 - 2011. A story of two sets of identical twins, that were accidentally separated at birth. Read more
2009. Fantastical and captivating, The Fahrenheit Twins tells the story of two siblings who live with their scientist parents on a remote arctic exploration station. Read more
2007. Featuring live music this classic fairytale was full of sparkling humour and dazzling theatrical invention - first rate festive fun for everyone. Read more
2007. In this startlingly fresh look at the world's most notorious lover, Casanova became a woman. Created by Carol Ann Duffy, one of the UK's most celebrated poets, and featuring Hayley Carmichael in the title role, Casanova saw Told by an Idiot take audiences on a scandalously funny and passionate ride with the irresistible seducer. Read more
2006. In collaboration with Nitro and Theatre Royal Plymouth. An awe-inspiring event combining Trinidadian carnival, live music, and a host of surprises with Told by an Idiot’s trademark theatrical inventiveness. Read more
2003-2005. A unique theatre experience fusing live jazz, improvisation, and a new dance craze where the world literally turned upside down. Read more
2003. A young man drops out of University and goes to the Police. He's done nothing wrong, he just wants a job. A particular job. Playing the victim in murder reconstructions. Maybe by getting close to death he can manage to cheat his own. Read more