'Are you ready for an authentic, vintage family slideshow presentation?' asks Jason Trachtenburg. It's a change from 'Hello, London', but a night with the Trachtenburgs is no ordinary night.
Trawling America's thrift stores and garage sales, dad Jason, mom Tina and 11-year-old daughter Rachel purchase collections of slides around which they write macabre 'pop-rock musical exposes' with Dad on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Mom working the slides and little Rachel banging the drums like a miniature Meg White.
Thus we get their versions of a 1970s McDonald's conference; longgone family gatherings and trips to Japan that appear to show a public execution half-way through.
While the songs are funny, and by no means novel throwaways, the gaps inbetween are even funnier, filled with Jason's bemused tangential meanderings about the New Mexican lady who made their gold suits, the right word for a piece of fabric, and why he's never seen a Hollywood film - something Rachel disputes with an off-the-cuff aside about the time he fell asleep during The Rugrats Movie.
If you're a fan of Pavement, you'll enjoy Jason's endearingly haphazard delivery, yet comparisons are futile: you'll never see a show more weirdly wonderful.
Until Dec 23, Soho Theatre And Writers Centre, 21 Dean Street W1, Mon to Sat 9.30pm, £15, £12.50 concs. Tel: 0870 429 6883. www.sohotheatre.com Tube: Tottenham Court Road
