Edinburgh comedies by Whisper Theatre, Lightning Rod Special and Olaf Falafel are exploring what it\u2019s like to be a dad, from the hilarious and melancholic to the devastatingly accurate cringe<\/p>\n
In a historic masonic lodge in Edinburgh\u2019s New Town I find myself raising my hand. The call has gone out for fathers in the audience and I join our hosts, Dick and Dale, along with another volunteer on stage. It\u2019s just us four guys at a campsite, practising trick shots with a baseball, busting some moves and shooting the breeze. But bubbling underneath is an existential crisis.<\/p>\n
This is Well-Balanced Dads<\/a>, from Chicago\u2019s Whisper Theatre Collective<\/a>, created by Dick and Dale themselves \u2013 AKA Richie Schiraldi and Britt Anderson. They\u2019re sporting headbands, bum bags and tank tops blazoned with \u201cBest. Dad. Ever\u201d, each with a different back print \u2013 one\u2019s a power drill, the other\u2019s a barbecue. Both have bushy moustaches and they supply us volunteers with our own. There are bursts of classic rock \u2013 Foghat, Kenny Loggins, Creedence Clearwater Revival \u2013 as we join them on a road trip and other volunteers are cast as hitchhikers.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e57a0cd389c3e90a5bf08a0356e2648c21a9584f\/332_54_1282_1026\/master\/1282.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=89b5e9a6b33e7dbab9261ace9e256009\" "\\"Camping")
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