FreshFringe 2026 Reviews - Hudson Hughes: At Your Service

Hudson Hughes captures the hearts (and possibly the souls) of his audience in a delightfully silly hour of some of the best character work I have ever seen.

At Your Service sees Hughes star as the Reverend Derek Gritt, a washed-up BBC star (although he would never admit that himself) now confined to holding funeral services for his aging fanbase. We become residents of the quaint village Godsby-upon-Treen, mourning the death of megafan Jane, while the Reverend attempts an audience Q&A amid battling the infernal spirits Jane conjures up from beyond the grave.

It is apparent that Hughes knows the subject matter inside and out. The Reverend’s introductory spiel is laden with shrewd references to classic British television, religious rites, dated technology and modern internet culture. Above and beyond, though, there seems to be an uncanny synergy between Hughes and Gritt; his improvised withering glares and offhand comments to the crowd are where I find myself shrieking with laughter. Hughes’ razor-sharp wit combined with such a complete and multidimensional character makes it hard to believe that this is his solo Fringe debut.

It would be incredibly easy for the Reverend’s self-satisfied preaching to, by design, lose its charm quickly, but the plot kicks in at the perfect time and we spend the rest of the hour enthralled in a ridiculous story as the funeral goes haywire. During Reverend Gritt’s descent into a vape-induced frenzy the plot becomes a little harder to follow, but the whole sequence feels almost hypnotic for the congregation. Hughes pleads for help from the front row in a way that only makes things funnier; no matter how despicable a character is presented to us, we cannot help but hang on his every word.

The technical and animatronic components are very impressive, and work tremendously well to further the plot and lend the show its signature camp horror feel. However, I feel they were cheapened by a somewhat disappointing setup. Throughout the show I could see multiple extension leads, powering props and elements whose animatronic components would have otherwise been a surprise to me (maybe this was a venue constraint, maybe it’s Maybelline, or maybe she’s a fucking witch). Without sounding too woke or seizure-y, I also would have appreciated a stronger strobe warning for some of the most intense lighting I experienced at this year’s Fringe.

Nevertheless, while Reverend Derek Gritt is plagued by a demonic force, the audience is spellbound by a force-of-nature comedian. Hughes’ characterisation is hilarious, substantive, and infinitely quotable in a way that I could see easily gathering a cult following. Death has been all too present in our minds recently, but this is a funeral I would happily attend again and again.

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Review written by Charlotte Norton for FreshAir Radio.