Fans of sketch comedy might have to look a little harder than normal at this year’s Edinburgh fringe, but there are a few gems lurking…
Crybabies: Danger Brigade
The fringe often isn’t as edgy as you might imagine. The debut show by Crybabies, for example, is an absurd but affectionate take on old war romps like Biggles. This buccaneering tale of defeating the Nazis and a Rat King (don’t ask) is also a highly impressive showcase of their talents – Michael Clarke is the anchoring powerhouse, Ed Jones is remarkably versatile and James Gault has a beautifully natural comic instinct. Time and again the Julian Barratt-ish Gault steals a scene with a look or line, but like the best sketch acts, they are bigger than the sum of the parts. Fans of Max and Ivan will be at home with their style of breakneck storytelling that packs in the gags alongside moments of poignancy. ★★★★☆
Heroes @ Boteco, 4pm, until 25 August
The Delightful Sausage: Ginster’s Paradise
Speaking of less-than-edgy references, Hi-de-Hi! is getting the treatment at noon every day courtesy of double-act Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill. The show’s ridiculous name is entirely apposite. We are immersed in a holiday camp (Ginster’s Paradise) with Cantrill and Gledhill playing the “salmon coats”. The tone veers between wholesomely innocent and darkly shocking, as the camp and our hosts unravel. The silliness never lets up either, with the arrival of a comically oversized ice cream called Colonel Whippy in the “morning kids’ club”. The duo could easily stop at “light entertainers doing dark things” but a twist in the tale ensures this is a show of substance as well as utter absurdity. A cult hit of the 2019 fringe. ★★★★☆
Heroes @ Monkey Barrel, 12pm, until 25 August
Just These Please: Suitable
Also in an early slot are out-and-out sketch quartet Just These Please, who have the YouTube numbers (22m views and counting) but not quite the show to match. What marks them out from most sketch groups is a kind of formality, not just in the suits they wear but the ritualistic nods that they exchange after each sketch. Their big YouTube hit – about ordering a coffee when you have an Irish name – is one of the better skits, as is the unromantic retelling of Titanic, and the gossipy postmortem of an orgy. The show is pacy and slick and the performances strong. But the gentle ribbing of everyday observations – the waning popularity of gluten, competitive thankyou-ing and people hogging cafes to charge their phone – can be too gentle and lack spark. ★★★☆☆
Gilded Balloon, 12.15pm, until 26 August
Moon: We Cannot Get Out
Jack Chisnall and Joshua Dolphin’s “bleak, provincial” sketches (their words) add up to a terrific show at the Pleasance. Their style is oddly combative, as if they’re performing in a boxing ring. The thread running through the show is that the venue is out to get them, snagging them on hooks and throttling them with the mic lead. The sketches themselves are frequently a delight, often riffing on TV tropes: they have a brainbox detective who stuffs up bad, a Monopoly debt enforcer and a rail operator who thinks he’s stuck in the world of Thomas the Tank Engine. There are unpredictable reveals and a few smartypants manoeuvres that are reminiscent of The Pin. As a sketch duo, they’re the full package. ★★★★☆
Pleasance Courtyard, 9.30pm, until 25 August
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