The List Operators

Five stars

The List Operators' sketch show for a regular adult audience was one of the neglected gems of last year’s Fringe. Experimental, cerebral and very silly, it combined an admirable desire to push comic boundaries with a fervent commitment to making people choke on their drinks with laughter. This year, they’ve taken that philosophy into the family arena, and the results are as richly, satisfyingly funny as any comedy show you could hope to see here. Each wilfully anarchic sketch pushes just firmly enough at the door of what’s deemed too rude for children to enjoy: we get plenty of farts, some poo, some sick and even, in a heart-stopping moment for many parents in the room, a section where children are invited to make a list of "rude words". The pair work with energy and skill to keep everything under control, whilst maintaining an illusion of free-wheeling madness that kids of all ages will absolutely adore. [Tom Hackett]

Five stars

The List Operators for Kids is a funny show in a weird way. I saw fun from start to finish because straight away when you walked in there were signs all over the set which said things like, "Don’t notice this!" – I noticed it! At the beginning they do a checklist which starts with their names and turns into dirty underpants being thrown everywhere! They make more lists as the show goes on. 

They really involve the audience which makes it interesting. They got a dad on the stage and he was up and tootin’ – LOL. It keeps moving on to something different so it's like lots of shows in one. It's just like good cop, bad cop, with one of them always trying to be sensible and the other one being really silly. There's lots of toilet humour – it's both funny and gross! This is the funniest show I have ever seen and I wanted it to keep on going. Who knows what the next sketch would be about?! [Ewan Robertson]