comedy review

Umbrella Birds

When I heard that the device linking the sketches in this show was women talking in a gym I was immediately sceptical, expecting this scenario to offer a flimsy coherency at best. Luckily, I'm not the one writing sketch shows for the Fringe, as this is a fantastic example of how a comedy sketch show should be done. The humour was continuous, keeping the audience's laughter simmering for the full hour, occasionally boiling over into uproarious hilarity and spontaneous applause. All too often, sketch shows try too hard to be wacky or different, as a poor substitute for clever writing, but Umbrella Birds neatly avoid this trap, delivering witty, intelligent, and above all, damned funny comedy.

Pleasance Courtyard, 30 Jul - 31Aug (not 12), 6.00pm (7.00pm), prices vary, fpp 107

tw rating: 4/5

published: Aug-2008

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1/5: Bad     2/5: Mediocre     3/5: Good     4/5: Very Good     5/5: Excellent

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