Last year my final show at the Fringe was Linus Karp’s hysterical gay panto The Fit Prince. The charming young Swede is back in Edinburgh with a more serious offering, based on a homophobic attack which he personally experienced.

The stage is set like a 1950s black and white illustration of a street in Soho, London, where the assault took place. Familiar shopfronts G.A.Y, XXX, The Admiral Duncan and The Soho Theatre form the background. In the foreground is a table and two chairs (Or were there two tables and one chair, Linus?) On either side of the stage are TV screens which will show prompts for the audience and audio-visual jokes to lighten the mood.

Linus appears, as he was dressed that day, in a pink T-shirt and running shorts. He begins his tale.

Just before they were due to take their show, Gwyneth Goes Skiing to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024, Linus and his boyfriend Joseph were walking down Dean Street when Linus noticed a man with a shaved head, tattoos and an umbrella nearby. Before he knew it, the man had struck a heavy blow to his head, breaking the umbrella handle in the process. Linus, badly injured but not bleeding, fell to the ground and Joseph, an ex-policeman, ran after the perpetrator, who was yelling that he was a paedophile and that the next time he would kill him. At that moment, the director of the Soho Theatre and a colleague were leaving the building. They were verbally abused and spat upon by the man. Joseph managed to tackle the man to the ground and called the police. The man was arrested, and Joseph accompanied Linus to Charing Cross police station to make a report. An ambulance had been requested, but because Linus was conscious and not bleeding, he was told to go to A+E at St.Thomas’ Hospital.

In the aftermath of his assault, Linus made the news and the incident blew up all over social media, mostly with sympathy, but also with some very strange and worrying responses.

But the trauma did not end there…

Two years on and the healing process has led to a wedding on stage at the 2025 Fringe and this performance in 2026. Some good has come from it.

The incidence of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people has increased over the last few years. Transphobia in particular is worse than ever. It’s a very worrying trend and Linus has the figures to prove it.

This is a serious piece of theatre, but it is not performed without humour. There are many amusing asides, including growing up Christian and gay in rural Sweden and the influence of Harry Potter on Linus’ life.  Audience participation, puppets, humorous visuals and of course Linus himself help to strike the balance.

See the show and help prevent another gay man from being hit by an umbrella!