Satire, Not Sledgehammers: Why How to Kill Your Landlord Is Comedy, Not Condemnation
- Sean McMahon
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 6
In recent days, a small-handful of commentators have branded How to Kill Your Landlord—a new show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival—as “disgraceful” and “sick.” The criticism, sparked by a satirical title and a few misunderstood quotes, has snowballed into an attempt to paint the show as some kind of anti-landlord manifesto.
Let’s be clear: it’s not.
What How to Kill Your Landlord is, unapologetically, is a farcical, high-energy comedy. It’s a tongue-in-cheek story filled with slapstick antics, exaggerated characters, and the kind of absurd plot twists that could only exist on a Fringe stage. Think Home Alone meets Fawlty Towers—not Fight Club for tenants.
Satire, Not Sledgehammers: Why How to Kill Your Landlord Is Comedy, Not Condemnation
In recent days, a handful of commentators have branded How to Kill Your Landlord — a new show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival — as "disgraceful" and "sick." The criticism, sparked by a satirical title and a few misunderstood quotes, has snowballed into an attempt to paint the show as some kind of anti-landlord manifesto.
Let’s be clear: it’s not.
What How to Kill Your Landlord is, unapologetically, is a farcical, high-energy comedy. It’s a tongue-in-cheek story filled with slapstick antics, exaggerated characters, and the kind of absurd plot twists that could only exist on a Fringe stage. Think Home Alone meets Fawlty Towers — not Fight Club for tenants.
Art Reflects Frustration — With a Laugh Track
The show follows three mismatched housemates — Burke, Harriet, and Joq — as they attempt to outwit their boorish landlord, Archie. Yes, Archie is painted with a broad comedic brush: overbearing, out-of-touch, and ripe for mockery. But the characters and storyline are so deliberately over-the-top that they clearly aren't meant to be taken literally.
To suggest otherwise is to ignore the most basic principle of satire: exaggeration as commentary.
A Familiar Feeling, Played for Laughs
The creator, Harry Conway, based the show loosely on his own experience of renting in London — a city where rent prices often feel like a punchline themselves. He describes the landlord-tenant dynamic as "fundamentally antagonistic" — but this isn’t a declaration of war. It’s the exaggerated frustration of anyone who's ever waited six weeks for a boiler repair or paid £1,200 a month for a mouldy flat with a broken doorbell.
Fringe theatre has always been a space to poke fun at the power structures we all live with — from politics to landlords to family life. This show is no different.
Not a Call to Arms. A Call to Laugh.
To those suggesting that the show "condones violence," the creators have been crystal clear: this is a comedy. No one is encouraging harm or hostility. No landlords are harmed in the making of this production — except perhaps in ego, when Archie trips over a yoga mat while trying to collect rent.
Fringe comedies have long lived in the space of joyful rebellion. They exaggerate, they parody, and they provoke laughter — not literal action.
Landlords Welcome, Too
Ironically, the show isn’t even anti-landlord. Many landlords — especially the responsible, communicative kind — will see it for what it is: a ridiculous send-up of the worst stereotypes, not a reflection of the many who work hard to provide good homes.
And for what it’s worth, at least one local letting agency has embraced the humour. The Property Experts in Edinburgh recently posted:
"For real-life property professionals who keep tenants happy (no booby traps required), contact The Property Experts today."
That’s the spirit.
Final Thought
Comedy, especially at the Fringe, is about pushing boundaries, not burning bridges. How to Kill Your Landlord doesn’t call for violence or hatred — it calls for a good laugh at the absurd reality of modern renting.
So let’s put down the pitchforks, pick up the popcorn, and remember what the Fringe is all about: entertainment with a twist.
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