Devotees of the reviewers of DARKCHAT ( and why wouldn't you be) will know we favour sketch comedy. The Penny Dreadfuls and Idiots of Ants generally battle it out at the top of the league with The Ginge, The Geordie and the Geek leading the chasing pack although Wit-Tank are making a bid to seize the trophy this year.
We do, however, always try to see newer acts with visits this week to Betrayal of Penguins and Late Night Gimp Fight & 88 MPH ( who shall remain nameless). Today it was the turn of The Three Gentlemen to show what they have got.
The bigger names generally inhabit the Pleasance Courtyard but I have a soft spot for The Caves. It's title gives you an idea of the sartorial elegance of the venue but it gives you the chance to see lesser known talent on the way up and more importantly it offers ( and provides) two for one pricing which helps a reviewers pockets at the end of a long week.
A big queue ensured we weren't going to get our usual from row seats but by splitting up we managed to get single seats near the stage, essential for Rick who lost his glasses the night before. I thought that for once I wouldn't be involved in a show until I realised I had a dreaded aisle seat & I was wearing a Monty Python T-shirt which had already been mentioned by one of the Englishmen on the way in. This is an increasing trend, performers greeting the audience before and after the show. It did provide the first laugh of the show that despite appearances " the venue was structurally sound". Not just a funny line but some re-assuring Health and Safety advice.
If you are not aware of The Three Englishmen there are actually four of them, all likeable. They started with a series of quick sketches which often are a bit of a mess but they all struck home, I especially loved the horse with a particular party trick. As the show progressed the sketches lengthened but they bucked the trend of re-occuring characters though I felt there was the opportunity for a further appearance of "Shirley Bassey".
It is odd that despite the effort performers put into honing their material often the biggest laugh occurs when someone goes wrong or corpses on stage. So, it proved here with a hysterical French spy scene especially when he actually eats his cigarette.
Oh, and my involvment? Naturally it occurred when a (huge) eagle escapes from its master to hover over me while an Englishmen constantly yelled at me to soil myself.
They are not the finished product yet, but worth following.
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