Marlon Solomon’s new one-man black comedy Conspiracy theory: A Lizard’s Tale about conspiracy theory and links to rising antisemitism, racism and extremism has just kicked off at the Edinburgh Fringe. The show centres on Solomon’s “bizarre and terrifying” journey through the dark underworld of conspiracism as a Jew (and, of course, reptilian overlord of the human race).

“It’s a show explaining the relationship between conspiracy theories and antisemitism, and it talks about how that’s got into mainstream British politics,” he says.

“A lot of Jewish people woke up in 2016 and started seeing antisemitism on their social media feeds and didn’t really understand it and have had to learn about it. The show is the audience watching me learn about what antisemitism is.”

Writing a comedy about such a dark subject came with “great difficulty” but Solomon says “doing the show is the cathartic bit” as he is “taking revenge on the antisemites.” 

“Antisemites don’t like being laughed at, and that’s the way I want to fight back at them. I want to laugh at them.” His show is filled with some of the more self-satirising parts of conspiracy theory and extremism, such as “UFO antisemitism”.

He talks about a now out-of-print American magazine called Contact. “The magazine is written — obviously — by an alien called Hatton, and he warns virtuous earthlings about the great Jewish conspiracy.” 

There are also two new songs added to the Fringe show, one of which is called Zianoist Jew — yes, that’s the spelling —which “verbatim quotes from Labour party members and supporters denying antisemitism and dropping an antisemitic trope in to emphasise their point, and nearly always with bad grammar.”

And there are signs that Solomon is not just preaching to the choir.  “There was one guy who said to me ‘D’you know, I think I might’ve been an antisemite, and I really appreciate you making [the show] because I just want to apologise to you for believing some of these things.’ I was genuinely overcome.”

Despite finding researching and writing the show “unpleasant”, Solomon hopes to return to write another on a similar topic next year.

‘Conspiracy theory: A Lizard’s Tale’ is at the Edinburgh Fringe at the Just The Tonic, The Charteris Centre, from the August 1 to 25 (excluding August 12)