Edinburgh Festivals Magazine , 11-Aug-08

No doubt eager to follow up his boys’ successes at the previous two Fringes, Pappy, a mysterious benefactor, has answered the prayers of a fan-base somewhere between ‘cult’ and ‘rather hefty.’ The self-titled ‘comedy team’ are back, laden with folk-lite guitar tunes and homemade props which suggest that Pappy is not the most generous of patrons. Last and sort of least, they have been dispatched on a vague yet weighty mission to ‘save the environment’. Undeterred by their theme (which one feels is a burden rather than a comedic opportunity), an hour of sketched-based hilarity ensues, gaining momentum throughout and culminating in a skilfully chosen finale, where Pappy’s boys face the wrath of a foul-mouthed and lecherous whale. The sketches were of variable quality and suffered most when the Fun Club stepped away from what they do best: the surreal, in favour of an attempt at the marginally topical. One of the comparatively flat ‘isn’t modern life crazy?’ sketches, ‘Text Shakespeare’, for example, suffered from combining the idea of Shakespeare re-workings (done many times elsewhere, predominantly more successfully) with text-speak, which we’ve all sn b4.

Pappy’s Fun Club is a lovingly scripted feel good affair. In contrast, some of the more improvised aspects of the show seem to have slipped through Pappy’s quality control. The act derives much of its charm from each performer’s persona as a quirky Everyman. However, this ‘nicest boys in the sixth form’ (which no doubt they all were) act also results in swathes of self-deprecation to the detriment of the show. If you point out that you have just told an unfunny gag too many times, your audience will simply wonder why you’re not trying a bit harder.

‘Funergy’ is a shaky premise, pushing its luck with a one-hour show. The sometimes cloying ‘Peter Pan syndrome’ afflicting the performers begs the question whether they are capable of the transition between empathetic figures of fun for the computer-science-studying- Hollyoaks-watching classes to the challenges of comedy less reliant on being ‘very punny’ (‘turbine- turban’ anyone?). Powered by charm rather than wit, Pappy’s unique brand of surreal comedy renders it the perfect way to spend an hour- provided you’re not one to take offence at jokes about Nottingham that is… Silly, but never stupid.

Original Link: www.edfestmag.co.uk/content/view/388/45/