Show Rating:

Don't be alarmed, but New Zealander Rhys Darby is more a clown than a conventional stand-up, entertaining not with words and opinions, but physicality and silly sound effects.

The big surprise is that he's very funny, especially in the right vehicle ­ which this hilarious silly romp undoubtedly is.

As you might guess from the title, this is a retelling of Robert Louis Stephenson's terror classic, updated in proper Hammer House Of Horror style to the future, conveniently brining in Alien-style sci-fi films as a second target for his affectionate parody.

Rubber faced and bendy limbed, Darby resembles a Spencer-era Michael Crawford, as much for his Seventies haircut as his nimble flexibility and ability to distort his features to fit any mood.

Darby employs his god-given talents to impressive effect, whether it be creating the grotesque staring face of the monster, a malfunctioning robot or a decrepit octogenarian in a flotation tank. He's got the vocal cords to match, too, conjuring up more-than serviceable impressions of everything from a helicopter to a Vietnam ambush from nowhere. This is a man who can recreate an entire flight to Mars using just a stool ­ which is admittedly pretty much all the real British Beagle programme had to work with, too.

It's all impressive stuff, and never more so than when Darby's fighting with himself, switching from one character's point of view to the next, flinging or dragging himself manically across the room. One rare piece of advice for a comedy show: try to sit as close to front-row centre as you can, lest you miss any of the subtle nuances.

He messes around with the theatrical conceit of what he's doing too ­ which, let's face it, is only slightly removed from the dreaded mime. But his skilled enough to fool with the concept, readily breaking the mood for a quick gag wittily mocking the stupidity of it all, but never too much to undermine the show.

It's a bravura performance from start to finish, generating so many laughs from an endeavour that could have gone so horribly wrong, and proving that the funniest shows on the fringe are often those you least suspect.