Review: SPEED: The Movie, The Play at The Pleasure Garden

SPEED: The Movie, The Play at The Pleasure Garden
Saturday, January 31, 2026 

Speed: The Movie, The Play at Fringe World doesn’t so much invite you to watch a show; it abducts you directly into one. This isn’t a regular theatre with a polite fourth wall and a safe seat quietly in the dark; the stage is the bus. You buy the ticket and take the ride as the play moves around you at over fifty miles per hour.

It’s a concept that perfectly feels Fringe, taking one of the most thrillingly absurd premises of classic 90s action cinema and making it intimate, immediate, gloriously silly, slightly unhinged, and high-octane ridiculous fun.

Act React, the creative team behind the concept, hit all the right marks in adapting the iconic film for the one-hour run time of the performance. Wonderfully paced with all the major plot points hilariously covered, the show hurtled through the story with infectious speed.

The real strength of the performance was the setting itself, with the bulk of the show staged on a vintage-era-correct passenger transit bus, creating the immersive world around attendees that really drove the show forward. The actors played out the scenes in the narrow aisle column of the bus as the audience nestled into the seats surrounding the centre aisle.

Audience participation was not just encouraged; it was an essential part of the show. ‘Keanu’ and other actors planted on the bus engaged directly with audience members at random, handing out lines on cue cards direct from the movie, all to aid the immersive nature of the experience. It was an integral part of how the performance was staged and played out, as action took place not only within the tight constraints of the bus but outside the walls as well.

The show poked fun at the absurdity of the plot, which was the whole point. The props and special effects used were hilariously silly. The actors’ performances bordered on melodrama, as Keanu, as the lead, recited all lines with both integrity and sincerity. All with a glimmering twinkle in his eye, he delivered his best Theodore ‘Ted’ Logan (Bill & Ted) impression. Sure, if you’re looking for deep character study, this may not be your bus, but that’s all part of the charm and the fun, and let’s be honest, the same could be said for the film.

Ultimately, Speed: The Movie, The Play is funny, frantic and far more entertaining than it has any right to be and a reminder that at a Fringe World experience, anything is possible. Brilliant in its scrappiness and utterly alive, you don’t just watch this; you survive it.

ZAC NICHOLS