In a Soho night club, in the early Eighties, a small but ruthless team of orange cretins hatch a rather lazy plot to destroy a nightclub and protect their inter-dimensional interests by doing so. This, to anyone familiar with Grandees, is not twaddle, piffle, or tosh but entirely par for the series' course.
In 2008 many Fringe-goers were exposed to the Grandees (literally, it's part of their act) and their strange brew of dance, comedy, acting and lycra. There's something endearing about the trio that makes people fans, followers of the act instead of mere interested parties.
The Grandee Way is full of the usual references to pop culture, epic pop songs, numerous films - the whole thing is a vehicle for a sort of commentary on lots of different human emotions, the importance of being yourself, the laziness of modern man even. That's what's underneath. What's on top is ridiculous costumes and a woman playing a middle aged man trying to teach an impish orange thing to dance.
What had the crowd in stitches on Tuesday was comic timing and scriptwriting, both top-class. It was once said about this weird little troupe that they were an amateurish prospect, mired in toilet humour - only the first point is true. But it's easy to see why some reviewers might perceive a touch of the amateur in the flow of the Grandee Way - there're something like ten characters to play between three people and costume changes for all of them. That the show uses the limited resources of a screen for the performers to change behind and they can do it quite seamlessly is a testament to their ability. It's also really funny.
Times: 8-30 August (not 19), 3.45pm