Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

How dare you suggest these alien hunters with their memory-wiping devices are in any way a ripoff of Men In Black! Their sharp suits are more of a charcoal grey, if anything…

 Bad Clowns are high on goofy energy, with big performances, impressive execution and surprisingly polished production values for a Fringe show. The plot of Invasion may be cheesy and the jokes broad, but the playful high spirits provide an invigorating blast of early afternoon fun.

Our heroic agents – Sam (Walls) Christian (Dart) and Special Agent J1 (John Bond) – are operatives of BAD, the Bureau for Alien Defence, on the hunt for Pax The Consumer, a parasite that could be inhabiting the mind of anyone in the room. Can they find the host and get the extraterrestrial to defuse the planet-destroying bomb ticking away in the corner? Plan A is to sing ‘are you an alien?’ to every audience member in the room in the hope of outing them…

It’s all stuff and nonsense and well they know it, making knowing asides to the audience such as: ‘I do things by the book. It’s my only character trait.’ They embrace the preposterous, from corny jokes to the silly physicality they bring to their vibrant performances.

Playing likeable idiots, the actors are loose enough to play around with the audience and each other to bring in some air of spontaneity without letting the story get away from them. Fast-paced as it is, the plot does get a little repetitive, but it’s only a vehicle for the trio’s boisterous slapstick and ‘wahey!’ wordplay, so maybe we shouldn’t get too hung up on that.

Likewise, the gags will likely pass through you, leaving no lasting trace, just like Pax itself. But you will remember having a whale of the time in the excellent company of three ebullient personalities.

• Bad Clowns: Invasion is on at Gilded Balloon Teviot at 1.30pm

Review date: 16 Aug 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Gilded Balloon Teviot