Some of the best sketches you’ll see this year – it’s a mixed bag of quality, comedic styles, and themes
One of my personal staples of the fringe since I moved to Edinburgh, has been seeing the yearly sketch comedy show by the prestigious Cambridge Footlights. One of, if not, the best student comedy group in the UK with alumni like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Sue Perkins.
It takes only a few seconds for the show to start making you laugh, with the group ridiculing the prestige they’ve been given for “winning a bunch of awards 50 years ago” setting the tone for another absurdist, satirical, and unserious show, with some serious talent. Any fan of Monty Python will feel right at home, sketches are littered with absurdist punchlines, wordplay that makes you roll your eyes violently, and sight gags that make you feel like you’re going a little insane. Each of the actors has a great chemistry , selling whacky character and scenes nonchalantly.
Even before the show starts they mess with the audience, with an homage to the infamous John Mulaney “what’s new pussycat” joke, lights weren’t even on and I already knew I was in store for some really, really silly jokes.
Overall the sketches range from mildly amusing one liners that get you to laugh a little through your nose, to more elaborate scenes that build so jokes that get the audience laughing in a massive fit. At the peak some sketches are hilarious enough to burst your lungs laughing, on par with Monty Python levels of absurdity, but these are sadly mostly in the first half of the show.
Spreading the best sketches across the show is tricky but I think the first half is too top loaded with some incredibly funny scenes, but the middle 20 minutes is far more timid and predictable then the first 20 or the last. Some sketches rely too much on nostalgia, but that’s only made annoying when you have two or three like that too close too each other. The meta plot of the cast’s new member, a talking dog who can’t talk, has some funny moments but is largely irrelevant and frivolous. If there’s going to be a more central theme or plot, I’d rather they commit to more like their 2022 show “Horrible Herstories” did, as a historical sketch show with light feminist themes.
Like all but the very best sketch comedy, it’s a mixed bag of quality, comedic styles, and themes. At its best it’s a must see that leaves your lungs hurting, at its worst it’s a relaxing but timid laugh. With a some better quality control, revaluation of themes and pacing there’s no doubt it could be the best pound for pound laugh in the fringe, but right now it’s just pretty comfortably on the better side of sketch comedy at the fringe.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/cambridge-footlights-international-tour-2024
It is telling that this group have opted out of audience reviews for Fringe 2024.Historically this theatre group may have been good, or great. The performance at this year’s Fringe is dreadful. Not funny. Apart from one individual, poorly acted. Don’t waste your money or time. Other Fringe shows, many by younger actors are better. Much better.
Agreed; and it’s incredibly suspicious that all the professional reviews are positive! This show is BAD. Not bad like a bit ropey the way free shows tend to be (which would be bad in itself since this is paid for) but FAR WORSE than that. I have never been so embarassed to have taken someone to a show in my life. But every professional review is like 4 stars and says it’s good. How does that happen?
Thank you for providing your thoughts Kit. Our reviews are subjective as are all opinions so it does sometimes happen that the critics enjoy it but others don’t. Our reviewer saw fit to award it 4 stars but we’re sorry you didn’t find it as enjoyable! Hope you find some other things at Fringe you enjoy!
We agree with the comments left by PB & Kit – we were on a single day visit this year and decided on this show believing it’s reputation, good reviews & ticket price (almost double the price of some at £18) all suggested this would be an “easy win” for people like us with limited time.
Unfortunately this show was simply not funny & disappointing in every way to us.
We had a group behind who were clearly connected to the cast with one individual roaring laughing through the silence at every opportunity supported by the rest of the group – ridiculous!
Not funny, high brow and annoying ringers – it’s too late now but this is one to miss, we were also astonished by the comments of the professional reviewers!
I have to agree. The most expensive side show of the 12 I went to and by far the worst. Similar experience with planted belly laughs. I have never heckled in a show in my life. However, there was a line where one of the cast said”i don’t think we can finnish the show” and I really struggled not to shout thank fxxx for that.
This was embarrassing and there some be someone involved in the team that could pull the show before besmirching the name of Footlights. I will never attend again.