Edinburgh Fringe 2026 Production archive
Very clever. Very silly. Very Edinburgh.
In August 2026, Golden Beryl brought its surreal audio world into the extraordinary Pianodrome: a handmade hour of fragmented monologues, absurd characters, live music and live Foley, performed by a full ensemble with Andy Pandini among the cast.
From the archive to the stage
Special Oblivion was a greatest-hits journey through the Golden Beryl podcast archive. Kings, obsessives, unreliable narrators and other strange figures drifted through a series of dark, off-kilter tales.
The audio world was rebuilt for the room by an ensemble of performers, with music and sound effects made live. The setting mattered too: the Pianodrome at St Oswald’s Centre, an amphitheatre built from rescued pianos inside a former church, made the whole thing feel both intimate and faintly unreal.
The press verdicts
“Thoroughly comfortable in its weirdness.”
All Edinburgh Theatre praised the show’s obsessive characters, unsettling atmosphere, live Foley and the way the company inhabited the Pianodrome. The review awarded four stars and summed up the hour as ludicrous in the best possible sense.
Ed Boulter-Comer, All Edinburgh Theatre
“Avant-garde and unpredictable.”
The Edinburgh Reporter described a show that was deliberately difficult to pin down, with the anarchic energy of improv inside tightly scripted work. The review praised its sophisticated sound and music, excellent voice and accent work, and imaginative use of the Pianodrome.
Charlie Ellis, The Edinburgh Reporter
Seven audience reviews
People arrived with very little idea of what Golden Beryl might do to them. They left talking about the dark surrealism, the live sound, an ensemble having a wonderful time and a venue that seemed made for the show.
A Basu called it one of their Fringe favourites: a beautifully presented live radio play with exactly the right late-night weirdness.
TS Edinburgh loved the combination of an off-the-wall show and the Pianodrome’s remarkable setting.
Bonnie Hunter heard echoes of Blue Jam and The Velvet Underground’s The Gift, then singled out the vocal performers, Foley artists and off-stage crew.
Connie’s response distilled the show into imaginative, absurd and irreverent mischief.
Clive Kempe felt the Pianodrome was almost bespoke for the production, with noises arriving from every direction and live effects that were a joy to watch.
Sim Coote laughed a lot, enjoyed the unusual venue and left with a warmth that lasted beyond the performance.
Gwen celebrated the gloriously scrappy ensemble, live sound effects and piano, and the infectious feeling of performers having a wonderful time.
All seven responses above were published on the Fringe listing. Gwen’s review was also shared on Reddit, where it reached a wider Fringe audience.
The company
The show moved between monologues, character pieces, interjections and sound-led moments, held together by Golden Beryl’s dry, dark and deliberately peculiar voice.
Written and created by Matthew Oakley.
Live Foley by Devon Peterson, whose on-stage sound work became one of the most frequently praised parts of the production.
Golden Beryl: Special Oblivion
Pianodrome at St Oswald’s Centre, Venue 344
Edinburgh Festival Fringe · 7–15 August 2026
Edinburgh Fringe 2026
The run has ended, but the voices, eyebrow work and suspiciously evocative noises have been filed safely in the archive — and Golden Beryl continues as a podcast.