Paper Monkeys: Legends

This is one of those great little Fringe shows that’s essentially a bunch of students having a whale of a time twatting about on stage, but with enough talent, warmth and genuinely funny material that you actually have a brilliant time with them. The premise is that we’re in IKEA, where a bunch of weird and wonderful characters are spending the day shopping. Among them, there’s a leprechaun, some vampires, an insufferably middle-class couple named Arthur and Guinevere who are looking for a suitably round table, a couple of crap superheroes and a previously big and bad wolf who has since had a sex change and become a celebrity chef, going by the name of Nigella Wolfson.

The cast have eked a lot of satisfyingly absurd situations and witty one-liners out of this central premise. The performances are larger-than-life and hugely enjoyable: the old device of a very quick prop or wig change is used to signify a change of character, but more importantly, each character feels sufficiently well-conceived that the audience never feels it’s just the same actor with a different accent. There’s no backstage area at the venue, so the cast mingle with the crowd when they’re offstage, and have an endearing habit of laughing at the performances of their fellow comedians. This just adds to the sense of amateur fun. Sure, there are times when the pace slackens and some lines fall flat; but this is a lot of talent for a small room.