There are more costume changes in Rob Preston’s solo show (one hour) than the central characters in certain West End musicals (usually, around two-and-a-half hours) have. They do, however, allow opportunities for the audience to come up for air in between what can be rather intense scenes. Framed around a pub quiz, for which the audience are all ‘participating’ (inverted commas mine – please don’t think there is much in the way of audience participation, unless of course, you park yourself in the front row), suggestions are invited as to what would help the world become a better place. Like, seriously: what would improve things for billions of people?
An ambitious show, both in terms of its desired goal and its overall feel, the various characters the audience is introduced to in a quick-fire pile-on of scenes are more than sufficiently distinct from one another. It quickly becomes clear, though, that none of the ideas presented are ‘actually’ going to work, but that seems to be the point of drawing comedy out of the ridiculous and/or absurd. As the show goes on, one is naturally inclined to think of some real-life examples of where someone has insisted that their grand master plan is altogether fabulous and feasible, regardless of what anyone tries to tell them.
Is it better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all? It naturally follows in a satirical show of this nature that we don’t get to find out what ultimately happens with the different ‘solutions’ proposed. And that’s the thing about this otherwise genuinely amusing show – there’s something about it that felt a tad unfinished, a series of beginnings but no endings.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Rapid-fire, bleak and bizarre, Amazing Global Solutions is a razor-sharp satire of internet induced isolation and toxic modern personalities. Join Rob Preston and his alter-egos on a quest to dominate the content space, put a stop to “mental health”, and bring lasting international peace to the entirety of the globe, globally. A big ask? Sure. But if we all want things to be perfect again, like they were, someone’s got to pull their finger out.
ROB PRESTON: AMAZING GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Fringe
5 to 30 August 2026
