Can comedy explain politics? Writer of upcoming Fringe show ‘The Painted Revolutionary’ Fionn Donnelly thinks so

The Painted Revolutionary is a witty and imaginative political satire in which concepts like ‘Struggle’, ‘Revolution,’ ‘Order’ and ‘Class’ are reimagined as people arguing over how society should change. Drawing on political thinkers from Rousseau and Voltaire to Marx and Hobbes and through comedy, philosophical debate and emotional drama, the show asks who gets to define ideas like justice and progress. We chat to writer Fionn Donnelly, from Tip Top Theatre, about. Struggle, Order, Revolution, Justice, Faith and Class, and the oldest question in politics.

For anyone who hasn’t come across it yet, what is The Painted Revolutionary about?

The Painted Revolutionary follows the character of Struggle on her quest to bring Change to the world, with a full cast of allies and adversaries in Revolution, Order, Faith, Class, Peace, Justice and the dowdy triplets Love, Passion and Hate. The Painted Revolutionary brings to life a strange world where political concepts are brought to life as very real, flawed people - each with their own agenda. We’re trying to break down the usual confusion of modern politics, by distilling these ideas into digestible concepts. Although the play has clear lines of progressive and conservative notions, we’re trying to move past these ideas to explain political discourse beyond the 20th century and go all the way back for the past 2000 years. We’re trying to answer, why does politics never feel like it changes anything? Inspired by political philosophers like Rousseau, Marx and many more going back to their actual theory and not the layers added by modern political discourse. Hopefully, our audience will be able to find the characters they most align with, without the imposition of modern terminology - and they may just be surprised at where their beliefs land.

Why did you want to write this show and why now?

Well, there’s a selfish reason and then there is a more altruistic reason. Selfishly, I was brought up in a very political family and have been actively political my entire life and I realized that within the Tip Top Theatre repertoire we had never actively tackled politics head on. We have definitely addressed subject matter such as mental health and the British education system, which feed into the wider notion of socially conscious work, but I felt ready to attempt an openly political show. Beyond my desire to address this line of work, it’s very hard to ignore the times we live in. Observing the modern world and its political climate has, at times, been incredibly frustrating to myself and other members of our company. It quite often leaves me asking, “why is there so much misunderstanding and misinformation in modern politics?” As someone brought up around trade unionism and with a father who’s incredibly well read as an economist and industrial relations lecturer, it sometimes feels like the label of political theory and its connotations, often outweigh the reality of the theory at its core principles. That was when I decided that, as we had done with misinformation around mental health previously with God, the Devil and me, maybe the strongest thing we could do was to create a show that removed labels and loaded constructs and instead targeted the very valid feelings that politics evokes head on, whilst also hopefully making a really gripping storyline and characters at the same time. For me, this show is a culmination of the political beliefs and theories I’ve always held, whilst also trying to be empathetic and hold room for other perspectives as well, to hopefully allow politics feel less competitive and more collaborative. Ultimately, its ok for people to agree with Order, Struggle, Revolution etc. but also allowing them to see how these different perspectives collide within the system that is politics, should hopefully make for an engaging and challenging journey for everyone.

Your characters are Struggle, Order, Revolution, Justice, Faith and Class. Where did the idea of turning political abstractions into real people come from?

I’d frame it like trying to learn how a machine works. Its very hard to do without breaking down the moving parts and watching how each part affects another. We don’t necessarily want people to leave The Painted Revolutionary with a particular ideological conclusion (though we’d hope that the show educates on enough of those parts to remove a lot of misinformation about certain aspects) what we want is for the audience to play with political ideas with us and see what comes out of that. When the political ideas are characters you can see how they may act in surprising ways, or subvert expectations. I also think it allows an audience to understand the human element of politics better. Order is a difficult sell, I think, he’s controlling, rude and sometimes hurtful, but he also feels a burden to keep everything in balance to protect (in his eyes) the people around him. The point is, Order probably isn’t a good guy, who does good things for the right reasons, but again, this system cannot survive without that - it needs Order in some way, its in what way that’s the ultimate question. I think it will be interesting to see how many can understand these concepts through knowing people like the characters we portray.

You founded Tip Top Theatre Collective in 2024, fresh out of training, and now you’re writing, performing and producing your own work at the Fringe. What made you want to build your own company rather than wait for the industry to come to you?

Well, I wish I could say it was that planned. In complete fairness, I had already been part of another fringe theatre collective before I founded Tip Top. Honestly, that was just a really fun and joyous experience and I felt I had learnt a lot and I wanted to progress into continuing that journey and founding my own company seemed like the best way to do it at that time. I also got very lucky with the team we managed to build these past few years- this company is as much theirs as it is mine. Without people like Noah Edmondson, Campbell Maddox, Neo Jelfs and Miranda McEwen (also the director of The Painted Revolutionary) I think this company may have collapsed a long time ago. I think the truth is, we just love the work we do and the things we are able to produce, even as a small team. I personally feel very lucky to be able to make these strange, quirky shows and sometimes I marvel at how much of their creativity is found in being a small, independent company - I think with more money we may go for more obvious ideas. Running your own company is hard (I won’t lie) but it does give you some real creative freedom and really pulls you together as a team, even with its ups and downs. I’m very proud of this company and everything we do. Beyond that, there’s no grand plan really, other than to keep making work we’re proud of and hope that people enjoy it. When you work in something that every day teaches you something new, challenges you and makes you proud, it’s a fulfilling role, which also means you’re not worrying about when the industry might knock at your door. It’d be really cool if it happened, but at least we’ve all got something we’re proud of and excited for, for now.

Struggle lives in a bookshop full of extraordinary ideas, but largely empty of people. Is there a bit of you in her?

Oh, quite a bit I imagine. Not only that, but Struggle is quite argumentative and a bit of a contrarian and I can recognise when she says something in my voice. I think a lot of the characters have that, I can especially hear myself in Love and Passion sometimes. It’s true for all our shows I think, I notice moments where a piece of me has crept into something a character says, or the way they handle a situation. I don’t think I’m quite as hermit- like as she is, at least I hope not. That said, Struggle definitely has a life of her own. I think she’s much braver than me, more determined too. I think she’s also got a sharper wit than I have. Ultimately, I just hope people love her because I certainly do.

Political comedy has to work for audiences who might disagree with each other about everything. How do you make a show about politics without turning it into a lecture or a rally?

Well, with The Painted Revolutionary, the key is don’t judge your characters, then you’re not judging your audience. All of these characters represent a political perspective, we don’t know who might be more naturally aligned with who. Even when we have a protagonist and antagonist, it’s key to remember that all people have flaws and all people have justifications for why they are who they are. The key is nuance. In a political comedy, its also key that nobody is above being roped into the joke. Essentially, we’re not aiming to create a morality tale, we’re here to give you a good story and hopefully make you laugh. Whilst we may be trying to educate a little, that should not come at the expense of a good story, or a good joke. We want the audience to play with us. Who knows, maybe we’ll come out with slightly different outcomes night after night, but that’s what good theatre should be, what it should do. We should play around each night and see what that does. I know no-one is likely to throw off their deeply held beliefs for one silly show, but wouldn’t it still be fun, in the hour we have together, to just play around and if when you leave all its been is a fun hour, that’s still something… and who knows what may lie fallow for a while after.

The show leaves audiences with the oldest question in politics: Is change ever truly worth the cost? Do you know your own answer?

I do. I’m an idealist at heart, so perhaps that gives it away, but I’ll keep my answer for myself, as it really isn’t the whole point of the show. I will say writing this show definitely made me stop to consider my answer and I think it has become somewhat revised. As much as this is the overall question of the show, I’m not sure the answer is the point. If you leave with the same answer you came in with, it really doesn’t matter, so long as you engaged with us during the show. We all believe what we believe and its often based on something deeper than experience. There are lots of theories that ideology is engrained in children as young as 7. Basically, I don’t think my answer is significant, I just want people to come and play along for an hour. If you know me, you probably know where my answer sits, but I truly think there’s something joyous in people both entering with and without an answer, and lets just see where that takes us.

The Painted Revolutionary will be performed at 7:25pm at The Space @ Surgeons Hall from 7th – 15th August at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Booking link: https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/painted-revolutionary