Review: Oxford Revue’s Gags

This was comedy of the absurd kind: fire-fighters who renamed themselves the ‘Fire Rangers,’ a pilot whose cabin appeared to be burlesque club, and David Attenborough’s pitiful attempts to chat a girl up in a service station, complete with a blow-by-blow narration.

Each sketch began on a serious note and quickly descended into farce – exactly how skit comedy should be done.

A glance at the promotional material proves that the team weren’t afraid to embrace the vulgar – phrases such as ‘now grab onto the shaft’ flew thick and, er, fast- but, thankfully, there were no juvenile attempts to shock the audience into laughter through crudity alone.

The acting was strong from all, with the cast’s ability to construct a scenario with merely accents and a few props admirable: George Mather and Rachel Dowie, confident and connecting well with each other on stage, stole the show.

Some actors were weaker than others; although David Meredith had a mastery of comic timing, the script gave him few opportunities to shine (it consigned Emily Honey to the same fate).

The ʻX Factor Twatsʼ scene was disappointingly unoriginal (early sketches from Robert Webb are remarkably similar) – it seemed the group stood on much weaker ground when they strayed from the random and hyperbolic.

Although effective in setting scenes, the sound effects sometimes masked the dialogue – the (admittedly brave) sketch where the cast attempted to revive one of their own flagging jokes a la Casualty or House was lost under the sound of a heart monitor, and some of the gags in the X Factor sketch were poorly received because of the over-zealous use of the sound effect of a cheering crowd.

However, the Oxford Revue produced an incredibly enjoyable evening, let down by minor elements that should be simple to correct before the show goes on tour.

The core of the piece is strong, original and well delivered. The comedy is witty as well as inane; Gags’ ingenuity and absurdity results in a polished and sparkling piece of work.