Laughing so much it hurts is a common exaggeration used for emphasis, but when comedy sketch group “Pappy’s” played Lincoln Drill Hall on Friday, March 12th, the entire audience were holding their stomachs in tucks of hilarity.
Pappy’s, who consist of Matthew Crosby, Ben Clark and Tom Parry, entered the stage to talk through the night’s proceedings to the audience all seeming very normal. It was around about the time when a minstrel character sang that he’d “tossed off a unicorn” that the night started to become surreal.
The first half was “a warm up” and a compilation of strange character sketches that were reminiscent of the “Monty Python” madness and the “Whose Line is it Anyway?” improvisation. By far the funniest part in this section was the appearance from Julius Caesar, bellowing Shakespeare above mellow vocals and guitars. This affirmed Parry as the jester of the group and brought both the audience and fellow performer Clark to tears of laughter.
What in some cases can be irritating and unprofessional, Parry’s unpredictability was in fact one of the most enjoyable features to watch. The three of them have a chemistry on stage that allows for unscripted interruptions to become part of the show and see them bounce off each other with sheer spontaneity.
Their supposedly intense “200 sketches in an Hour” attempt begins with a song that they “don’t have time to perform”, which put the whole thing into context. This wasn’t about delivering quick sketches one after the other, this was about quality. Yes it was silly and sometimes rather slapstick, but it neglected any clichés and was full of creativity – rather a change to the satirical and cynical comedy that consumes the genre right now.
The attempt did contain one-off sketches such as a talking iPod and an appearance from Anne Frank’s boyfriend. Though surprisingly a couple of story lines emerged, so the audience got to know certain characters and became excited by their reappearance.
In particular, the lovable but useless dinosaur Dean played by Clark and Parry’s pantomime-like Quaker brought out their random thoughts that they as friends find funny and turn into sketches. However it also highlighted their brilliant use of props, which can be said for the whole show.
Without giving too much away, Pappy’s entertain the audience for every moment they’re on stage. The trio are full of energy and a zest for their profession, which transfers to the audience so that the evening’s content is enjoyed by everybody in the auditorium together.