2010 Edinburgh Fringe
Clever Peter review
How many impressions of a fox can one show prompt between friends? In my case, more than I can count on both hands... thank you, Clever Peter. The sketch comedy trio - resplendent in their trademark red, blue and yellow jumpers - hit the spot again this year with another collection of well thought-out and clever (no pun intended) characters and situations.
They often take a pretty simple premise - a bloke in a pub giving dating advice to a pal, for example - and develop it to a high comedic degree. Intelligent material in sketch comedy is sometimes hard to come by, and it is through this that Clever Peter are refreshing. Each situation is immediately identifiable and based firmly in real life (yes, even a talking fox suddenly feels very feasible).
The trio have good timing, great facial expressions and physicality, and even during the blackouts between scenes, if you look hard enough, you can see them doing silly dances to the music well into the wings. Sometimes, their accents were a little too over-the-top and it grated on me slightly, but their sheer enthusiasm was infectious.
The chaps are clearly good actors aside from all the comedy capers and while there is the danger of the 'actors being comedians' syndrome in this situation, it doesn't come out here. As my foxy friend referred to in the first sentence commented, "they come across as intelligent buffoons, not middle class egotists."
Whoever this Peter bloke is, he deserves a pat on the back.
Clever Peter: Blood, Sweat & Tears listing