Original Review:

Show Rating:

This is a pretty disappointing effort for a talented group that last year produced one of the funniest shows on the fringe.

A loose collection of sketches, purportedly torn from the history of the Hollow Men through the years, provides a lazy excuse to run through a series of slight, if brilliantly performed, gags.

The show lacks the dazzling energy, fast-paced action and spectacular sense of fun we've come to expect from this lot, who instead seem content to just tread water.

That's not to say this show isn't without its moments, but it's telling that the best sketch - a very literal mime interpretation of a Paul Young number - is just a reworking of a previous idea.

They also do well with a running Egon Ronay gag, but even that involves the increasingly common trick of using a real head on a tiny puppet body (Maybellene, Jason Byrne and Men In Coats to name but three acts using the same technique).

If they put their collective minds to it, the Hollow Men can bring an unparalleled invention and skill to their sketches. But this is nothing more than ordinary, and it's a shame to see their undeniable talents so wasted.