Chief Petty Officer celebrates sold-out opening weekend at Edinburgh Fringe
Vix Leyton’s Chief Petty Officer has had a wonderful start to its Edinburgh Fringe run, with full houses on both Friday and Saturday at West Nic Records and a lovely first wave of reviews from critics and audiences.
It is difficult to describe quite how much that means after spending the best part of a year getting the show here. Chief Petty Officer has travelled through months of work-in-progress performances, rewrites, cuts, additions and the inevitable last-minute tinkering that apparently continues even after you have officially declared something “finished” - if you haven’t seen the version with sound cues and a little dance, you need to come again. Bringing it to Edinburgh was always the big test, so seeing people respond to this odd little comedy lecture about pettiness with such warmth has been a huge and validating joy.
The show asks whether there is a formula for the perfect petty act, using a completely unnecessary amount of research to examine the grudges, revenge plots and moments of minor-minded magnificence that have peppered history and popular culture.
At the centre of it all is the Hill to Die On, a highly scientific graphical representation of the point at which satisfying pettiness tips over into catastrophic commitment to the bit.
The first weekend brought two full houses in the Little Cellar at West Nic Records, including the strange and conflicting Fringe experience of being delighted that the room was full while also feeling genuinely mortified that there were people outside who had wanted to see the show and couldn’t get in. For a Free Fringe show, where you never quite know what the room is going to look like until people start coming through the door, especially one where the only way to get in is to show up and queue - my venue rule, not mine - my Cortisol longs for pre-sales.
Chief Petty Officer reviews at Edinburgh Fringe 2026
The Scotsman described Chief Petty Officer as “a lovely, friendly way to spend an hour”, praising the show’s journey through “small – and not so small – mindedness across the years”.
Most lovely of all was its response to the enthusiasm at the heart of the show: “When a performer is sharing their genuine fascination with and enjoyment of any subject it makes us enjoy it too. And we do.”
That is probably about as close as anyone could get to describing what I hoped Chief Petty Officer would be. I love these stories, I have spent an unreasonable amount of time disappearing down research rabbit holes looking for them, and the whole point of the hour is to bring an audience with me.
Audience reviews have picked up on that too. Amabel Thornton gave the show five stars, describing it as “a brilliant hour with plenty of well placed laughs” which brings together well-known and lesser-known acts of pettiness before culminating in the story of the perfect petty act.
Alisa, meanwhile, called it “a hilariously technical breakdown” of famous and lesser-known feuds, adding that “Vix clearly relishes the small-mindedness of grudges and brings us right into each story with glee”.
She finished with possibly one of my favourite descriptions of the show so far: “it feels like a recording of a Radio 4 series!” Alisa, thank you for understanding the assignment - I love you.
Ea-Nasir becomes an unlikely Edinburgh Fringe fashion icon
There has also been an unexpected breakout star from Chief Petty Officer, although unfortunately it is a Babylonian copper merchant who has been dead for several thousand years.
Ea-Nasir appears early in the show as the recipient of what is believed to be the oldest surviving written customer complaint. Around 1750 BCE, a spectacularly unhappy customer named Nanni had his grievances about some poor-quality copper committed to a clay tablet, creating a piece of consumer correspondence that has somehow survived for nearly four millennia and, much more importantly, found its way into my comedy show.
For Edinburgh I had a limited number of “DON’T BUY COPPER FROM THIS MAN” tote bags made, mostly because I found the idea extremely funny.
They have subsequently started appearing around the Fringe on the shoulders of audience members, comedians and friends of the show, and have become one of my favourite sights while walking around Edinburgh.
I am not claiming Vogue has declared Ea-Nasir the must-have style item of Edinburgh Fringe 2026, I am simply saying they still have time.
What is Vix Leyton: Chief Petty Officer about?
Chief Petty Officer is a visually driven comedy lecture about pettiness and the surprisingly enormous things human beings will do in service of a relatively small grievance.
The show moves through history, politics, music, celebrity feuds and everyday acts of revenge, looking at what separates an inspired petty act from one that gets completely out of hand. Along the way, everyone from ancient merchants to rap superstars gets put through the same framework in search of the perfect example.
After touring the show in development around the UK, Edinburgh is the first full Fringe run of Chief Petty Officer.
Where can I see Chief Petty Officer at Edinburgh Fringe?
Vix Leyton: Chief Petty Officer continues at West Nic Records - Little Cellar at 4pm from 11-16 August as part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival.
The show is Pay What You Can, with the option to book in advance through the Edinburgh Fringe box office or take a chance on the door.
Mostly, I am enormously grateful to everybody who has already chosen to spend an hour of their Fringe with me. After such a long road getting Chief Petty Officer here, the first few days have been a better start than I could have hoped for.
And if you spot somebody walking around Edinburgh carrying a warning about an ancient Babylonian copper merchant, give them the nod. We’re starting a movement.