Pappy’s, Pleasance Dome - review

 
23 August 2012

Could the best sketch comedy show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe be the best comedy show overall? Pappy’s madcap Last Show Ever was deservedly nominated for a Foster’s Comedy Award yesterday.

This is a show that manages to be slick and silly, daft and deft and the climax may even leave a lump in your throat.

The premise is simple. Ben Clark plays an old version of himself reflecting on his final gig with Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry. In flashback we see that fateful performance. Highlights include a brilliant quickfire date-to-grave romance that evokes the opening of Up, an identical scene that is repeatedly given different meanings by different music and Parry inheriting a failing glove business, prompting the immortal squirm-inducing line “I’m losing money hand over fist.”

Much of the action trades on the trio’s immense amiability, which enables them to pull off the corniest gags. But there is also some very clever writing.

While the props resemble junk shop rejects, there are no throwaway lines. Everything counts and almost everything leads to a laugh. A possible award winner on Saturday, a definite winner for anyone who sees this.

(Until August 27, 0131 226 0000, edfringe.com)

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in