BEASTS: Solo

“That was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” gushes an excitable young lady, blinking in the post-Portakabin sunlight. An overdose of endorphins, perhaps, but then BEASTS are an act that will inspire such extreme reactions, one way or another.

It’s actually worth buying a ticket just to pick out the few hardy audience members who've decided not to laugh at the daftness unfolding before them, to prove a point (we’ve all done it): stifling the giggles during this show must be like trying to soak up a tidal wave with a kitchen towel. BEASTS may not tax the grey matter but, by crikey, they do tickle the old F bone.

In truth, beneath the silliness this is an impressively constructed show, tellingly directed by Pappys' Tom Parry. Solo kicks off with a novel riff on the sketch format: having announced that they’re splitting up, the trio perform one brilliantly simple gag, then two wildly different versions to reveal how each member preferred it. Their comedic differences now apparent, the newly solo performers vie to squeeze their solo shows into this hour, with increasingly violent results, in the best Rik ‘n’ Ade, Vic ‘n’ Bob manner.

BEASTS’ trio dynamic is fairly traditional—a little hairy grumpy bloke and two prancing loons—while Morecambe and Wise often spring to mind, style-wise. Indeed, there’s a big dose of Ernie’s Play Wot I Wrote about this particular hour. Add perfectly-paced mayhem, and you’ve an absolutely rocking kabin. Try it, you might (secretly) like it.