2011 Edinburgh Fringe

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Ireland's favourite Penguin-related sketch group are back after consecutive sell-out runs at the Fringe, with a sketch show that won't fix all your self-esteem issues... but won't necessarily make them worse.

A Betrayal of Penguins is a formally-attired sketch group consisting of Matthew Smyth, Ross Dungan and Aaron Heffernan. After forming from within Trinity College Dublin's Players society (other past members include Samuel Beckett, Dominic West and all of Dead Cat Bounce), they are fast becoming one of Ireland's leading comedy acts. They have completed two sold out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2009 (with their eponymous debut show) and in 2010 (with their parody of a doomed kids' TV show Don't Run With Scissors).

Endangered for a Reason sees the group make a marked departure from their usual style. While their shows in 2009 and 2010 saw them perform long-form one-hour narratives, this show sees them create a show based on a number of individual sketches. The new approach allows the group to interweave a wide range of stories and dozens of hilarious new characters into their performance.

Expect mayhem, expect a paper-thin, incomprehensible narrative, and expect to still be confused at the end of the show as to why these guys are wearing tuxes.

Penguin Facts: As well as writing for A Betrayal of Penguins, each of Ross Dungan and Matthew Smyth has written on other Edinburgh Fringe shows. Smyth co-wrote last year's hit musical Obama Mia and Dungan penned Minute After Midday, a play about the tragic Omagh Bombing of 1998. Meanwhile, Aaron Heffernan has risen to national fame in Ireland through appearances on numerous TV programmes (including the RTE news) as a Barack Obama impersonator during the President's recent visit.