2011 Edinburgh Fringe
The Best Of Clever Peter review
"Another day at the Fringe, another slice of sketch comedy," I hear you sigh. Wipe that thought out of your mind immediately young man/woman/insert appropriate description here, because Clever Peter will change your mind anyway so you may as well not embarrass yourself in the first place.
At first glance, it may seem strange CP are doing a 'Best Of' show when they've only done three Fringes. This is the thing: their sketches are so good and cleverly crafted that they are definitely worth repeat viewings.
I've had the pleasure of seeing all three, and I can honestly say they get better every single time. This is (probably) mostly due to familiarity with the material, but even though they may have performed their stuff many a time, they still seem to enjoy it.
Clever Peter have a great on-stage chemistry. You can tell they work very hard to achieve this level of seamlessness, yet this is precisely how it comes over - utterly seamless and effortless.
My favourite character of theirs has to be a talking fox who intervenes in awkward situations and sorts it out (a bit like Jeremy Kyle but a whole lot more believable, and I'm talking about a fox here). I like the fact they don't use a heck of a lot to perform either. Sure, they like props as much as the next sketch group, but they are never there just for the sake of it and nor are they distracting, as props can sometimes be.
Basically, give Clever Peter a darkened room with a bit of floor space and Bob's your uncle. This goes one step beyond sketch - they make it an art form.
I state right here and now - Clever Peter is the best sketch show I've seen this Edinburgh. I'd highly recommend you catch them wherever and whenever you can; you don't want to be left out of the gang, do you?
The Best Of Clever Peter listing