Review by Steve Bennett

The Durham Revue team have produced a breezy, funny and enthusiastic sketch show that not only demolishes the admittedly mediocre expectations of a student production, but rivals the best professional attempts in terms of pure laughs.

Any notions of amateurism or pretension usually associated with undergrad shows are instantly dispelled with the opening song - a slick, energetic Meatloaf pastiche that serves as a highly effective wake-up call. It's not particularly original - and actually turns out to be the weakest section of the show - but it does have a decent pay-off line and establishes the cracking pace that never relents.

There are some hugely inventive characters here, such as the disbelieving boyfriend who takes news of impending fatherhood rather badly, or the unhinged psycho out on a date.

The emphasis is always on the laughs - not on showing off how clever or good at acting they are - and the skilled team are never afraid to do anything in the name of a good gag.

It's funny, punny and scorchingly fast-paced, with lots of one-gag visual quickies punctuating the action. One sight gag, performed in an inter-sketch blackout, is one of the most brilliant comedy moments on the fringe, and it makes me smile just thinking about it again.

They've also come up with a string of imaginative ways of ending sketches - always the hardest part in writing such so-called 'broken' comedy.

Some skits are inevitably funnier than others - and there's a slight tendency to obsess about 'bum sex' - but no segment even come close to bombing, a rarity in even the best productions.

That in the sea of mediocre sketch shows in Edinburgh, the best comes from a band of unheard-of novices comes as a refreshing revelation - and proof indeed that comedy is about funny writers and gifted performers, not promoters and publicists.

This impressive team may have come out of nowhere, but they're certainly going somewhere. Who says the fringe can't discover new talent?

Review date: 1 Jan 2002
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett