Steve Bennett (I)

Weirdos For Christmas No 1 review

Here's a shock... this year's panto from the ever-growing Weirdos collective of comedy circuit oddballs has gone all conventional - and used an actual Christmas theme.

Probably the most TV-experienced of the lot, thanks to BBC Three's Badults and more, the trio of Matthew Crosby, Ben Clark and Tom Parry have created a nicely put-together short as gags and observations build to a satisfying conclusion. It all starts as our Three Unwise Men break down on the way back from a Christmas Eve gig, where their cheesy puns had fallen on deaf ears. Trapped in their car they exchange wittily stupid musings on the likes of Secret Santa and the John Lewis Christmas ad. And Dara O Briain proves himself a great sport in a game cameo.

The physical comedian behind the live shows Squidboy, Kraken and Nautilus offers his take on a classic set-up here, trying to sneak silently around the house as he does the Santa Claus duties on Christmas night... failing dismally, of course. There are some nice touches in the extents he goes to for authenticity in his present-delivery; and a great payoff at the end. Oh, and in the credits you might spot that his character's name is Cliftracts Penktinkerton, which has a nice ring...

This starts with Lolly Adefope performing in a style with which she's very much at home, a shy girl who's thought of an allegedly amusing comment, which plays on her excited lips as she builds up he confidence to say it. When she does, it singularly fails to impress Natasha Demetriou, playing an aloof, cynical colleague from an unspecified Continental nation. They are both elves at a low-rent shopping centre grotto, and when Father Christmas fails to show, Adefope dons the red suit herself, prompting one parent to complain that a black Santa is 'political correctness gone mad', while others are over-keen to show their liberal values. It's an entertainingly knowing script, with Demetriou relishing telling the dark customs of her homeland loosely based on the strange - and, let's face it, racist - Dutch legend of Black Pete.

Leicester Square New Comedian Of The Year 2015

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Review - Bridget Christie: A Book For Her

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