Review: What the Dickens!

What the Dickens, Tues 5^th– Sat 9^th May, Corpus Playroom, 9.30pm, £7/6

 Isa Bonachera is impressed with the humour and versatility of the Impronaut’s new show.

For those that don’t know, the Impronauts make it all up on the spot.

In a good way.

A very good and funny kind of way.

All we had to do was give them a key word, a ‘Dickens-like-title’ and a location. And they did the rest.

They created an array of different characters that were all on their way to London for their own reasons; a rich lady wants to find a husband, an ambitious wheel-maker wants to make a fourth wheel for his revolutionary design of a four-wheeled carriage, and an art supply shopkeeper wants to learn how to make some good pudding.

they did well considering what we gave them to work with…

It was amazing to see how the cast came up with all these ridiculous and hilarious characters and a well-constructed story on the spot. The music played in the background was also improvised and it added some well-timed dramatic emphasis to the story.

The actors maintained the same level of energy from start to finish, and the audience was laughing throughout. There were a few misses and cringe-worthy moments, but most of the skits were hits in this entertaining, improvisation experience.

What the Dickens

Not all the actors were equally brilliant, but some gave remarkable performances. Ted Hill always made the audience laugh, and he always saved the skits that were beginning to fall flat. Hill was versatile, creating a large repertoire of characters from a rich-man, to a horse, a butler, and a wheel (yes, a wheel).

The audience loved everything Haydn Jenkins said. Jenkins played mostly one character and, on occasion, induced hysterical laughter from the audience.

Alex O’Bryan-Tear stole the show with his ridiculous characters and clever comebacks. O’Bryan-Tear was superb in his portrayal of a sexually promiscuous female criminal.

They had us reaching for the ceiling with laughter…if that’s even a thing. Either way, it was a great show.

Ed Elcock also deserves an honourable mention. Elcock’s character, an odd wheel-maker, formed the foundation for the most prominent and amusing jokes.

What the Dickens is the perfect show to snap out of the Easter term work comma, you are guaranteed to enjoy the silly stories and fun characters this talented bunch will come up with.

A well-deserved 4 and half stars.