Show Details
Beyond A Joke
Show type: Edinburgh Fringe 2004
Starring Comic:
Nick Mohammed

Beyond A Joke


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Description

Across Britain snow is falling. Roads are blocked, power has been cut off and there are mysterious goings-on in the hills.

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Reviews

Original Review:

Show Rating:Beyond A Joke rated 1/5

Set amid a huge snowstorm, altering normal life in some truly bizarre ways, the acclaimed Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe have produced a series of comic sketches that never really manage to take off.

The production itself is highly organised, encompassing all the technical talent that is on offer to such a prestigious company. The set is simple yet effective and decent theatrical effects are achieved using a complex convergence of light, sound, smoke and fake snow. Reasonable production values, however, fail to mask the glaring problems in writing and performance that provide absolutely no structural support to a superficially pleasant hour.

The sketches are all created in a deliberate, offbeat style, always taking a very methodological, rather than inspired, approach to writing. Precious few characters are anything more than caricatures, a one-dimensional idiosyncrasy designed solely for the purpose of a single joke.

In one of the better sketches, for example, a man purposefully travels into traffic jams for fun and proceeds to form an intimidating relationship with another driver, yet the character is frustratingly undeveloped aside from an artificial 'weirdness'. Even when figures appear more than once, it is only for the purpose of repeating the same joke with no additional depth applied.

Other sketches, such as an odd lunchtime exchange between two men, are very fuzzily focused with the purpose or, indeed, comedy being highly difficult to distinguish. The broader theme also appears to be constantly confused as, at times, the show purports to be a satire of the warped perspectives of small-town life while, at othesr, the focus shifts to critique upper classes, football culture and professional relationships. As a collective piece of work, it seems as if the troupe collated individually written sketches before changing minor details to create the appearance of a coherent hour.

The large majority of performances are contrived as each actor, with a few exceptions on certain sketches, appear to have one individual style which they relentlessly transfer from character to character. This may not be a huge problem if the written material was stronger, allowing one solid aspect to carry the other, but it is simply not good enough to save this ambitious, yet ultimately boring, production.

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Comments

A very confusing review. Perhaps not the most original show on the Fringe but undoubtedly one of the funniest I saw. The performers were charming and timed each section impeccably. A solid three or four star show.

Brian Malling, September 2004


What an unnecessarily scathing review! Even if some of the points made are valid, this show cannot conceivably be given less than three stars. This was some of the best comedy I saw at the festival: full of clever observations about life, people, and various instituitions... the cast were of an exceptionally high standard, with two or three especially captivating, and engaging members, and I didn't want the show to end.

Impressed, September 2004


By far the worst show on the Fringe. By far the worst show I have ever seen. Everyone in the audience agreed on the way out that it was as poor as it gets. This privileged fools should leave comedy well alone

Jim Cracknell, September 2004


I saw this in Edinburgh and was hugely disappointed. The show is for actors written by students and played by comedians. Surely this cannot be the best Cambridge has to offer. This was trading on the name stuff.

Ted, September 2004


A very long hour. Clinging to the 'Footlights' moniker, hoping to inspire a loyalty from the public who have moved on from white middle class Oxbridge undergrads.

Harry, September 2004


This is one of the worst written reviews I have ever read How can this man be questioning the strength of a show's writing when he can't even construct a proper sentence? I saw this show and the performers came across as likeable, funny, intelligent and very talented. I am sure these five people will go far.

Person, August 2004



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