There’s nothing like a sketch show to put you in a good frame of mind and the team at Aardvarks Anonymous are here to help. Fragment (Consider Revising) is a fast paced performance with plenty of weird and wonderful comedic ideas that were executed with flair.
Sketches were thrown at the audience at a rapid pace; some single joke pieces while others were more involved. All were brilliantly constructed and it was obvious a lot of love had gone into them, evidenced when an impressively involved wardrobe was employed for a single punchline. They explored a wide range of topics to appeal to a wide audience but I did notice a slight leaning towards material that catered to their own generation, especially the ones with video game and iPhone references. Nothing was particularly offensive. They instead choose to venture into many silly realms to obtain the laughs. Predictability was successfully avoided by taking most of the sketches into unexpected places and even the ones that could be telegraphed were performed so well that you enjoyed familiarity.
At about the half way point we were treated to a series of video sketches that allowed them to make use of more involved locations, props and costuming. These were of a slightly slower pacing which helped the audience to catch their breath.
The stage set was most impressive, a giant book in which the pages provided a detailed monochrome backdrop for the performers. Sketches were grouped into vague themes that matched the illustration to save them the quite massive task of turning the pages. Props and additional set dressing were efficiently placed and removed between each scene so we weren’t left waiting in the dark for too long.
All seven performers were brilliant; hamming it up for maximum effect, employing ridiculous accents and generally having a ball. Costuming with varying degrees of complexity helped to bring the many characters to life. Bouncing off each other seamlessly, the cast ensured this was a very slick production.
Fragment (Consider Revising) was a hilarious show that had the crowd rolling in the aisles. Sketch comedy fans should definitely check it out.
For booking details visit the Comedy Festival website