Garrick Theatre, London – until 30th August 2026 (mornings and afternoons)
Reviewed by Phil Brown
3***
Brainiac Live is a hugely popular and literally explosive live family science show inspired by the cult classic British TV series Brainiac: Science Abuse (on Sky One from 2003 to 2008). It’s been entertaining and educating audiences worldwide since launching in London in 2008, and in 2025, won an Olivier Award for Best Family Show.
The emphasis is definitely on fun and family – you are very unlikely to see lone adults at this show unless, perhaps struggling teachers desperately looking for inspiration on how to jazz up their science classes. In fact, if your child is old enough to attend the show on their own, they are likely a bit too old for the content which involves a fair amount of flame, bangs and smoke (but no mirrors – yet). it has stood the test of time remarkably well, but then, like fart jokes, apparently sensible grown-ups flirting dangerously with scary activities never really goes out of fashion.
Originally the brainchild of Dan Colman (producer), this version of Brainiac Live has been co-written by lead Brainiac maniac Andy Joyce (aka Brainiac Ned). He is joined on stage by the excellent backroom boffin lookalike Rik Warren (aka Brainiac Ed) and Tracy Rahi (aka Brainiac Raz). A fourth member – Brainiac Dave (played by Holly Glenn) makes cameo, laboratory technician like, appearances from time to time. Together, they put on a brisk, well designed and rehearsed entertainment that packs in scientific content with considerable humour, and combines managed mayhem on stage, with continuous audience engagement. As the opening page of the excellent programme says – it’s the show that laughs in the face of science or more colloquially by Brainiac Ned – the show that farts in the sleeping bag of science.
It’s certainly a well judged fumes cabinet of fun especially for an audience largely composed of kids probably between 5 and 11 years of age. (It’s no coincidence that the best time to present a live family science show is during school holidays). There are hints of pantomime and slapstick to this one hour show which runs through 10 or 11 energetic “experiments” in that time, ranging from humans running through things like plasterboard (why should superheroes have all the fun), through blowing up a hot water bottle by overinflation, to the airzooka challenge involving firing massive smoke rings yards into the audience – a particular favourite and an effective climax with a lot of audience participation.
Other well received segments include liquid nitrogen (LN) producing cumulus clouds of gas on stage, and then turning Brainiac Ed’s breath in a balloon into a liquid, as well as the use of calcium carbide plus fire to launch Brainiac Ed’s old socks plus a Brainiac T-shirt from a phalanx of rocket tubes into the audience. Apparently 10 litres of LN are used every show.
I particularly enjoyed the absolutely hilarious Misheard Lyrics sketch and the Audience Hearing test where the sound started at a frequency of 8000Hz (I failed even that) and went up to 20000Hz. And I’m sure plenty of keyboard warriors in the room will get a kick out of how fast it’s possible to spin an office chair – 23 times in 15 seconds since you ask (using CO₂ and rockets for propulsion).
And the solution to any dead time during equipment take-down and set-up moments between sketches is neat and clever – screen based “brain burners” or what the rest of us call puzzles – so no loss of momentum. The programme contains a number of these as well as experiments to try at home and fun facts about the show.
On this evidence, the 2025 Olivier award looks well deserved.
Overall, Brainiac Live is a fun filled and stimulating event where the performers seem to be having as good a time as the audience – and why wouldn’t they – exploring “what if” and “what about” to the limit, whilst messing around with fire, smoke and explosions. The Brainiacs are particularly good at making everyday science seem much more playful than daunting and really just an extension of natural curiosity. Whilst relentlessly engaging the audience for a reaction, a common Brainiac exhortation is “come on, you can do better than that”. In a grander way that’s precisely what we need from future generations. I hope it’s a message that sticks in the mind of anyone who is inspired by the show to try and make sense of how the world works.