The Noise Next Door: Bring the Noise

For this, The Noise Next Door's sixth Fringe, the boys present an hour of improvised comedy sketches and songs not driven by any particular concept, which suits them. Allowing individual sketches to go wherever the audience dictates, it also means we meet a whole host of madcap characters throughout the course of the hour.

In many ways, The Noise Next Door are far slicker than some of the more ramshackle improv troupes often so rife at the Fringe. Bring The Noise maintains a consistently speedy pace and they are never fazed by the audience's wackier suggestions, seeming—if anything—to relish the absurd. There are also plenty of quirky touches and kooky gimmicks: one of the sketches, Archie Fox, is filmed each day to be later serialised on Youtube.

Unfortunately, there are moments where they descend into the formulaic. Their audience warm-up, for example, involves the sort of predictable fare we've seen countless times before and the gags are frequently nothing special. Easy laughs, sure, but you'd think that with minds as sharp as theirs evidently are they could think of something slightly more original. Furthermore, while structure is obviously necessary in an improv show, theirs is often quite transparent, shoehorning audience suggestions into pre-existing song and dance routines; it adds to the show's polish, but is a little lacking in spontaneity. 

Nonetheless, finding yourself wondering how on earth they think it all up so quickly is always a good sign, and The Noise Next Door certainly leave the illusion of perfect improvisation intact.