A long first sketch takes a little while to hit its stride but Judith Faultless ('Surbiton's only famous person') and Alys Torrance ('Stranger to the stars') soon warm up as they embark upon a journey through a delightfully absurd world. From desert-island eBayers to talking gazelles and lion-tamers, a banged-up Angela Rippon signing autographs for inmates, and a uni-cycling second-class stamp (just one of the many amazing stamps in Stanley Gibbons's Amazing Stamp Collection), Faultless and Torrance's sketches introduce a range of characters from a surreal alternative reality where moustaches are made of tinsel, and General Custer can't make up his mind.

A series of clever and well-paced sketches shed light on historical facts in this parallel universe. There are actually two, rival, Florence Nightingales, for example. Jane Torvill meets Christopher Dean through a temp agency, and the common cold could have a different name if ambitious but bumbling scientists, Pethernorth and Jenks, each desperate to find an illness to name after themselves, get their way.

Although most of the sketches involve both comediennes, the pair gives each other occasional space to shine. Alys Torrance entertains with a long, risky and ultimately genius mime – 'Paul Smith, the tailor' making himself a suit, while Judith Faultless's stripper attempts to get to grips with her elasticated mittens.

A sparse set and props: a blackboard, a table, a mug, a chair and a pink toy electric guitar combined with several pairs of knickers and the natural chemistry between the performers ensure that A Night in Shining Armour is fast-moving and flawless, warm and genuinely funny.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Judith Faultless. Alys Torrance.

Company Credits: Writer - Alys Torrance, Judith Faultless. Director - Alys Torrance, Judith Faultless. Technical Operator - Michelle Green. Venue Technician - Ashely Bolitho. Dramaturge - Phil Whelans. Producer - Alys Torrance, Judith Faultless. Company - Alys Torrance, Judith Faultless.

END

(c) Adam Elston 2009

reviewed Friday 14 August 2009 / Etcetera Theatre, Camden, London UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com