I have just seen one of the funniest things on the Fringe - unfortunately, it wasn't this show.
Warning alarms sounded in my head as I approached the venue - all the shows advertised seemed to be children's shows. Checking the listing I was reassured that it was under theatre and billed as "a cross between Allo Allo!, Shrek, and the sauciest Carry On movie". That's a rich seam of silliness and close to a genre that served Frankie Howerd well, over a career that was long and hard - "Oooh no missus, titter ye not".
The plot follows Prince Charming and his rival, Puss in Shoes as they set off to rescue their fellow fairytale folk, who are disappearing at the hands of a mysterious woman in black aided by henchmen with a line in torture while singing. The would-be James Bond prince is assisted in his quest by an encyclopaedic magic mirror in a sort of Jeeves and Wooster style. The remainder sees some rather poor risqué humour, some Benny Hill style loss of clothing and some running around. To be fair the actors playing the main characters (particularly James Sharpe as Prince Charming) do their best to hold it together.
Effectively it's a pantomimic kids' show with a sprinkling of fairy smut. Due to its listing however there was not a single child in the audience. Children might just enjoy the knock-about fun, but then they might be lost at the musings of the loquacious mirror and a leather-clad dominatrix with a cantilevered cleavage might be hard to explain.
And now we get to the hilarious bit. "You will all come with me!", demanded the villainess as the lights dimmed on the scene. Well apparently not, as a chunk of the audience used the cover of darkness to make a run for the door. "It's hopeless, we will never get out of here!" whined one of the fairytale creatures. Wrong again. As the lamps dip once more another portion of the crowd make a break for freedom. Had the show been longer the cast would have been there by themselves. It was by far the funniest thing that happened during the show.
A final musical number sees the cast declare that they could do with a drink and suggest going to the pub. And that's exactly what I did. After all that innuendo I needed a stiff one.
Times: 24-31 August 2009, 4.45pm.