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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Sketches Before Bedtime
Verdict: Funny overt silliness, strong acting
The team behind this late-night comedy sketch show are five fresh men with a strong line-up of witty and original gags perfectly pitched at the student market. The opening sketch which shows an astronaut (Ben Anderson) carefully making his way across the lunar surface to the sound of 2001 A Space Odyssey's theme music Thus Spake Zarathusa is sharply brought into focus by the caterwauling of his mother from the bottom of the stairs wanting to know if he's brushed his teeth. This simple, effective gag is enhanced by the passionate frustration of the now-unveiled teenage fantasist as his Odyssey is torn apart by the relentless maternal inquisition. The mood is set for a night of unabashed juvenile giggles, and even for those who are not fans of overt silliness, it works because the material is fresh - and silly.
Each sketch has merit and is funny, with strong acting and a warm feeling of enjoyment and camaraderie generated by the cast. Stand-out favourites are the Naughty Breakfast in which Ben Anderson does things with strawberry jam which might make it less attractive in future. And Marmite, in which Dan Levandovsky as a definitive Marmite Nazi takes the advertising slogan too much to heart - 'You either love it or hate it' he screams, with unnerving conviction.
Alex Kempton's sensitive vampire falls foul of a different kind of bigotry, well-acted. Nick Crossly shines in The Break Up as the friend who role-plays a bit too enthusiastically. The Orgy sketch in which a group of spotty teens gather in the hope of a good old session is almost comic genius, but for the non-ending. Sam Jacobsen as an angelic-faced paedophile is matched only by the raw sex-appeal being offered up at the other end of the room.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): (all play multiple roles): Ben Anderson. Nick Crossly. Sam Jacobsen. Alex Kempton. Dan Levandovsky.
Company Credits: Writer - uncredited. Director - uncredited. Technical Operator - uncredited. Producer - Péle Ling. Company - Politically Erect Comedy and Péle Ling. Website - www.politicallyerect.co.uk.
END
(c) Diana Thomas 2009
reviewed Monday 10 August 09 / Sweet Grassmarket, Edinburgh 09
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012