Pappy's Fun Club are out to save their club. Their mysterious benefactor, whom they've never met, threatens to take away the funding unless they can run the club in a more energy-efficient way. This is the running theme that ties the show together very loosely, as they try to fuel the show on Funergy.

They start with a song that sets the tone for this fun, high-energy hour of highly-enjoyable silliness. Home-made props have plenty of cling-film and cardboard. A sketch between an owl and the internet is one of the highlights, with a simple but very clever costume idea made from an old jumper and a pair of Marigolds (UK rubber washing-up gloves). But it's not just the costume that is good - clever writing brings the laughs thick and fast.

With a mixture of music and silly sketches, the troop are instantly likeable. The four men (Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby, Brendan Dodds, Tom Parry) look as if they are having a blast as they perform, which is infectious. Sketches are simple, ridiculous and very enjoyable. There's a sketch about adopting a blue whale which takes it all too seriously, a great song about mother nature to finish the show, and one about a stuntman who doesn't know when to quit. Only a few segments don't feel fluid, but the on-stage banter and the fact that the cast are happy to acknowledge mistakes without worry stops this from interfering with the enjoyment. Somehow the cast tie up all these sketches neatly at the end, as the various threads introduced throughout the evening come together - not that this matters as the sketches hold together on their own. It's all great fun to watch.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Ben Clark. Matthew Crosby. Brendan Dodds. Tom Parry.

Company Credits: Writer - uncredited. Director - uncredited. Technical Operator - uncredited. Producer - uncredited. Company - Pappy's Fun Club. Website - www.pappysfunclub.co.uk.

END

(c) Helen Johnson 2008

reviewed August 08 / Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com