How do we get out of this mess? Bristol environmental artist Tom Bailey off to Edinburgh Fringe with new show
Herald Angel award-winner and Bristol native Tom Bailey and his theatre company Mechanimal return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Wild Thing!, a new production tackling extinction through inventive theatrical storytelling.
The show follows Bristol environmental artist Tom Bailey’s critically acclaimed 2019 Fringe hit Vigil, and serves as a creative sequel, responding to the alarming rise in endangered species as a result of the climate crisis.
Wild Thing! blends physical comedy with sound art, featuring Bailey alongside sound artist Xavier Velastin. The hour-long performance sees Bailey attempting to embody 48,000 endangered species—ranging from the Uglyface Scorpionfish to the Darth Vader Giant Pill Millipede—highlighting the absurdity and tragedy of mass extinction.
These animals, many with unfamiliar and poetic names, are all listed on the IUCN’s Red List of threatened species.The production moves from comic impersonations to a surreal VR-style safari, culminating in Bailey inhabiting the body of a Bali Tiger.
The result is a mix of satire and sorrow, offering both a parody of digital escapism and a poignant call to environmental awareness. Since Vigil premiered in 2019, the number of species on the Red List has risen from 26,000 to 48,000.
In response, Bailey undertook a 1,000-kilometre solo journey on foot in 2024 as a personal tribute to lost species—an experience that now informs the emotional core of the show. Known for its emotionally resonant and socially urgent productions, Mechanimal continues to explore the climate crisis through unconventional theatrical forms.
Creator and performer Tom Bailey said: “We want to approach the massive and challenging topic of extinction in a moving and different way. We live in a world of negative climate apocalypse stories and data-driven climate scenarios.
“How do we find our way out of this mess? How do we acknowledge the sadness of the situation, but look to move beyond the tragedy? Wild Thing! doesn’t claim to offer answers, but gently seeds questions and thoughts through play and imagination.”
With Wild Thing!, the company offers Fringe audiences a rare combination of humour, beauty, and grief—inviting both reflection and action in the face of ecological loss.