Hope This Helps! - Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026

Hope This Helps! is a lot of fun, and if you’re already missing The White Lotus, Shark Bait Theatre’s retreat comedy might just help fill the gap while we wait for season four.

Set at The Retreat in the Scottish highlands, where five eccentric digital addicts arrive hoping that a detox, some questionable wellness exercises can solve their problems, the show quickly establishes the kind of ensemble that makes The White Lotus so addictive too. Everyone has their own reasons for being there, their own hidden agendas and their own baggage, and watching those carefully maintained facades begin to crack is where much of the fun lies.

The show’s exploration of why people might desperately need to disconnect is particularly strong. Porn and AI addictions have damaged relationships, incel culture sits alongside the frustrations of dating apps, while good old-fashioned phone addiction leaves others incapable of simply being present.

Presented in the round, the retreat feels suitably immersive, drawing the audience into this strange little ecosystem as much as the characters themselves. The eccentric cast embrace the heightened comedy while giving their characters enough depth to make their increasingly ridiculous situations land.

Lee Hutchison
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Runs until August 29th at TheSpaceUK