The Colour Ham

The Colour Ham are mates. They’re mates with each other, they’re mates with the audience, they’re a ‘Great Bunch of Lads’. This constantly reiterated camaraderie creates a warm environment but does little to hide the inconsistency of this Britain’s Got Talent-style entertainment hybrid. In their debut fringe show as a trio, Colin McLeod, Kevin McMahon and Gavin Oattes for some reason combine their separate skills of mind-reading, magic and sketch comedy to present us with a show that varies wildly in quality.

McLeod is extremely likeable, while his mindreading segments seem genuinely impressive.  However, the tone of the show, which is framed from the outset by Oattes as sketch comedy, creates uncertainty about whether McLeod’s segments are intended as serious feats, or parodies of mindreading set pieces aiming instead for a sketch comedy style pay-off. 

Oattes as the comic relief takes the earnest appeal of McLeod and friendly magician McMahon down a notch, by bursting in with his particular brand of base, visual humour. It’s obvious that the audience enjoys Oattes’ character as the hapless pantomime sidekick, but the content of much of his comedy is lazy and at times offensive. His parody of BBC Alba’s Dotaman treats us to mumbled faux-Gaelic, punctuated by shouts of “beef curtains” and “lesbian”, followed by what can only be described as ‘learning disabled Cilla Black’ which drains another seemingly accomplished hypnotism segment of its dignity.

While The Colour Ham may have stumbled upon an act with the potential for broad appeal, the comedic content ultimately aims disappointingly low.