Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

In a superficial survey, if we look back at old reviews for previous incarnations of The Leeds Tealights, it’s interesting how little the shows seem to change despite the ever-rotating cast. 

Student comedy is ever its own world, I suppose. Some aspects of it evolve, but much remains constant, and this incarnation is instantly identifiable as student sketch comedy the minute the four performers bounce out on stage and start chanting their lines in unison.

The Tealights this time out are posing as a boyband. Having recently gone through a meteoric rise and precipitous fall, they’re out to redeem themselves through a final ‘concert.’ The audience are invited to mentally pretend that their sketches are songs, and not much more is said about it, which is probably just as well since it doesn’t make a lick of sense, and is mainly just an excuse for the group to do some funny boyband poses.

The sketches themselves… pretty good! There’s imagination and verve here to a greater degree than many of the white boy double acts I’ve seen this year. 

They don’t tend to develop them much past the initial premise, but that at least allows them to stay nimble, and ideas like Flat Stanley filing for bankruptcy, or a bitter rivalry between two grandmothers of the same boy are strong enough that the sketches tend to work regardless, even if a more seasoned group might have put an extra twist in the tale.

As performers, they do their best to be interchangeable, and together they lean a little heavily on Matt Berry-esque line readings in order to give the script more pizazz. 

Becky Hughes is the standout, able to summon laughs through her stage presence alone, but there’s no weak link here even though the rigours of the Fringe seem to be taking their toll: Sam Dallamore Hynd is losing his voice and Charlotte Pine seems to be working with a heavy cold, but both make a good fist of it through a slightly feverish glow.

Sketch of any type is vulnerable to a creeping schematic quality. Student sketch especially – they’re still finding their voices and beginning to experiment with the form. This batch certainly have the potential to take it further, should they wish.

• Chortle’s coverage of sketch and multi-character acts at the Edinburgh Fringe is supported by (but not influenced by) the Seven Dials Playhouse. Read more

Review date: 11 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Just The Tonic at The Caves