Friday, August 08, 2008

The Reduced Edinburgh Fringe Imro Show

Scratch
The beauty of improvised comedy is that when it snaps it can be some of the quickest, wittiest comedy around. But instead of snapping the Scratch improv troupe spend the majority of the show making a damp sort of ‘plib’ noise. All the performers have the confidence and basic know-how to keep a scene running and a few laughs coming but technical niggles such as repeated glaring contradictions in the attempted long form musical and a reliance on the same improv games as everyone else puts them at a distance from the masters of the genre. John Mawer and keyboardist Phil Lunn show talent and no doubt some nights the show works. But the snap/plib ratio is slightly out.
Pleasance Courtyard, 30 Jul – 24 Aug, 6.40pm (7.40pm), £8.50 (££7.00), fpp 90.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

John Mawer now lives in America and has done so for many months. Philip Lunn hasn't performed with Scratch for even longer. Is this an incorrect recent review, or a lazily cut and pasted one from years gone by?

... said...

it's incorrect information taken from the scratch impro website. but john mawer definitely looks the same as the guy who was playing...