Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It ★★★★

Probably no duo has to deal with higher expectations at Edinburgh Fringe this year than Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland, aka Xhloe and Natasha. The buzzy pair from the Big Apple managed a hat trick of Fringe Firsts in 2022, 2023, and 2024, then returned in 2025 to perform all three hits in repertory. Now they’re back with a brand new show, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, that sold out its entire run before the festival even began.

Fortunately, the hype is merited. All the Xhloe and Natasha trademarks are present: fantastic synchronicity, tight clown choreo, excellent sound and lighting design, and buoyant energy. And this time around, they’re even more ambitious storywise, taking on an entire Southern mountain town that’s consumed with conspiracy theories after two teenagers start rumors of Sasquatch sightings to cover their tracks after they accidentally bust a stop sign.

The idea isn’t far-fetched. South Carolina was overwhelmed by purported Lizard Man sightings in 1988, and, in 2016, parental panic ensued when there was a flurry of reports of clowns trying to lure children into the woods. Eventually the stories just faded away, unsubstantiated, but not before making their mark.

Where these kinds of wild rumors begin, and why, drive this production, and once the story really gets rolling, the show begins to shine. Xhloe and Natasha tackle at least a dozen characters and differentiate them brilliantly with distinct physicalities and accents (the head of the Crisis Rescue Team is deliciously officious), and as the truth of this struggling town’s situation comes to light, it becomes understandable how conspiracies can unite a troubled and underserved community when there’s little other reason to be hopeful.

The problem, and it’s minor but noticeable, is that the first 15-20 minutes of Bigfoot aren’t as clear and developed as the rest of the show. It’s an unusual problem for Xhloe and Natasha to have — And Then the Rodeo Burned Down has an unforgettably electrifying opening — but the opening segments — including a bit too much blather about Dairy Queens — feel dramatically still and a tad cluttered compared to all that follows.

That issue aside, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It is a fine addition to the Xhloe and Natasha canon. Once again they amply demonstrate that they are remarkable artists who must not be ignored. And, unlike Sasquatch hiding in the woods, they’re the real deal.