By Grace Hatchell
There are many sensible ways to inherit a family business.
You could study management. Learn the accounts. Shadow the staff. Develop a firm handshake and begin saying things such as “moving forward” without visibly wincing.
Or, like Teddy Mega, you could secretly dream of dressing up as the theme park mascot instead.
Frankly, I know which option sounds more fun.
FWAMP! Theatre Company is making its Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut with Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park! The Musical, a riotous original comedy about love, loss, family expectations and the familiar sensation of being a constant disappointment to your parents.
So, essentially, musical theatre with emotional baggage and access to a rollercoaster.
Written by Abbie Freeston, with music by Matthew Stanley, the show follows Teddy Mega, a fully certified theme park nepo baby who is expected to inherit Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park and continue the family legacy.
There is only one minor snag.
Teddy does not actually want to run the place.
His real ambition is to become the park’s infamous mascot, which is either a beautiful act of self-discovery or a very elaborate way of avoiding paperwork. Possibly both.
Welcome to Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park!
The production promises joyful, unapologetically silly escapism, combining British humour with a story about trying to become the person you want to be rather than the person everyone else has already pencilled into the staff rota.
It is a tale of family pressure, secret ambitions and the rocky road towards adulthood — only with more songs, brighter costumes and presumably fewer meetings about quarterly ticket sales.
The company created the show after discussing how bleak the world can sometimes feel and how important it is to make entertainment simply because entertainment makes people happy.
I fully support this philosophy.
Not every evening at the theatre needs to leave us staring into the middle distance, questioning the fragility of existence while attempting to locate the nearest late-night chip shop.
Sometimes we need a ridiculous theme park musical.
Sometimes we need a mascot with dreams.
Sometimes we need to watch someone else disappoint their parents for seventy-five minutes so we can feel comparatively successful.
From Leeds to the Edinburgh Fringe
Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park! The Musical first appeared at stage@leeds in June 2025, where it received an enthusiastic response and several five-star reviews.
Fairypowered Productions described the show as “sweet as candy and equally funny,” while That Leeds Mag called it “an absolute riot from start to finish” and praised its classic British humour.
The production has now packed its metaphorical suitcase, checked that nobody has left the mascot head on the train and is heading north for its Edinburgh Fringe debut.
FWAMP! Theatre Company was formed by a group of creatives who met while studying at the University of Leeds. They have since carried their shared enthusiasm for musical theatre into professional work, which is lovely.
Most university group projects end with one person doing everything, two people disappearing and somebody submitting the wrong PowerPoint.
These lot built an entire musical.
Earlier this year, FWAMP! was also selected as one of only 16 recipients of the Keep it Fringe Fund, helping the company bring its flagship production to Edinburgh.
Grace Has Several Important Questions
I am already curious about Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park.
What sort of mascot are we dealing with?
A cheerful dragon? A slightly alarming squirrel? A giant foam teacup whose eyes follow you around the gift shop?
And exactly how infamous is infamous?
Has the mascot been banned from the log flume? Is there an unresolved incident involving a candyfloss machine? Has somebody accidentally proposed marriage while wearing the costume and now cannot work out how to explain it?
These are the serious theatrical questions.
What we do know is that the show intends to deliver bright, energetic musical comedy while exploring something extremely relatable: the struggle between family expectations and personal ambition.
Teddy has been handed the keys to a theme park empire, but his heart belongs inside a mascot costume.
You can call that foolish.
You can call it brave.
You can also call it absolutely sweltering under stage lighting.
A Musical About Finding Your Own Ride
Beneath all the chaos, Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park! The Musical appears to be about choosing your own path, even when your family has already purchased the map, laminated it and highlighted your destination.
There is something rather lovely about that.
Life frequently tells us what we should want. The sensible career. The respectable job title. The office with a proper chair and perhaps a small plant you forget to water.
But Teddy wants the mascot suit.
And perhaps there is a little Teddy Mega in all of us — though hopefully not literally, because sharing one mascot costume between several people sounds unhygienic.
With its original songs, colourful setting and proudly daft premise, the show looks set to offer exactly the sort of big-hearted escapism that Edinburgh audiences often need halfway through August, when everybody is exhausted, damp and living mainly on meal deals.
A theme park musical about parental disappointment?
Strap me in.
Just make sure the safety bar clicks properly.
Show Information
Title: Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park! The Musical
Venue: theSpace on the Mile – Space 3
Dates: 17–29 August
Time: 6.05pm–7.20pm
Tickets: £12, with £10 concessions
Age guidance: 16+
Tickets are available through theSpace and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe box office.
Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park! The Musical | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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