August 15, 2025 


One4Review
If you’ve ever been at a party and heard someone declare, “I could fix the world — if only people listened,” this is the show for you. Here, the bold claims are funnier, sharper, and occasionally just about plausible.Hosted by Leslie Gold and Tom Mayhew, this new panel format turns Room 101 inside out. Instead of banishing the world’s irritations to oblivion, the panel has to pitch “good stuff” worth adding to the planet — and then survive the scrutiny of an audience armed with quick wits and itchy voting fingers.Gold and Mayhew are a pitch-perfect pairing: she has the swagger and snap of a cabaret compère who’s seen every trick in the book, he’s the deadpan strategist quietly plotting world domination via whimsy. Together, they steer an ever-rotating cast of guests through the chaos. Today’s bill featured the politically barbed Ashley Haden; the irrepressible Gabrielle Macpherson; and producer-turned-wildcard Nick Kirk, who clearly relishes the chance to swap clipboard for spotlight.Rules are simple, but the anarchy arrives fast. Macpherson kicks things off with “Donuts for everyone on Mondays” — the kind of populist sugar rush that could swing an election. The audience immediately drills in: Who’s paying? What about gluten-free voters? Before long, she’s off on a gloriously unhinged rant about fruit in desserts, prompting both fervent nods and audible gasps.Haden works the room like a man detonating conversational grenades with precision timing, dismantling capitalist logic as if it were flat-pack furniture. An audience member’s pitch — making mocktails cheaper than booze — spirals into a ten-minute free-for-all, part comedy roast, part pop-up economics seminar.Gold and Mayhew preside with a benevolent iron fist — quick to swat away the overcooked, yet sly enough to let the absurdity bloom. They prod, interrupt, and stir the pot with the flair of seasoned mischief-makers, ensuring even the daftest rule gets a full, funny hearing.The joy of 101 Rules lies in its built-in unpredictability: every show is reshaped by the guests, the crowd, and whatever bizarre tangents spark in the moment. You arrive for the rules; you stay for the bickering, the philosophical curveballs, and the flashes of unexpected wisdom between punchlines.In a Fringe calendar crammed with straight stand-up, this is a mid-afternoon palate cleanser — part comedy, part thought experiment, part verbal Squid Game. Click Here For Review