British comedy at its finest: stools, satire and sexiness.
Turn this Sh*t off is simply a classic British comedy show. Be well attached to your seat, as Stools Studio is ready to surprise you with the best satire of every cult British TV show. From Eastenders, to Peppa Pig and Love Island, this show is certainly not shy of going for ridicule.
The props are already clunkily laid out in the room from the beginning, making the whole performance feel purposefully scruffy throughout. Clothes are thrown on the grown, grabbed and put on in a hurry as TV channels pass from one show to another, the transitions shown by dimmed lighting. The point is not for it to be perfect, quite the contrary. The comedy lies in the imperfect, in the clothes badly worn, in smudging cake onto the face, in badly played scenes.
The three actresses are fantastic. Poppy-Anne Taplin’s expressions of disdain and dumbfoundedness are brilliant, making the audience truly believe in the
Evie Farmer masters the arrogant snarky look, hilarious in the Monday Kitchen Mornings’ show. Eve Crutchley is fantastically badass in her cropped top showing obnoxious abs, with the inverted cap adding on to the bad boys vibe, especially during the Mike’s Magic impersonation.
The costumes were extremely well thought out, creating an atmosphere of absolute chaos as the clothes are scattered across the stage. The three actresses are dressed in oversized shorts, various scrumpy shirts and wearing terribly fake wigs, under which messy hair can visibly be perceived. The scruffiness is delightfully intentional, adding to the complete mess of Stools Studios as the actors change clothing in between scenes, alternating suits in Apprentits and showing off their drawn-on abs in Mike’s Magic.
The directing of this play is greatly done, conveying increasing chaos as each show is played, Stools Studios disintegrating with each channel switch as the acting gets more and more frantic, fires are lit, people are slapped and the scenes get more and more irrational. By the end, even the actresses are breaking out of character as the laughter cannot escape from them, and it seems both the audience and actors are surrendering to the chaos.
This show is not for anyone even mildly unfamiliar with British culture, from the bountiful references to the classic humour and puns the Brits so adore. But if you are, this will be an evening of laughter in a world that much needs it!
Turn this Sh*t Off runs at Edinburgh Fringe from the 6th to the 31st of August. Tickets here.