Pappy's

Now streamlined to a three-man act and with a shortened moniker to boot, Pappy’s bound onto the stage and launch into All Business with a big musical number. The flimsy premise that they need to impress impresario ‘Four Foot Freddy’ to gain funding is the springboard for a cavalcade of quickfire, low-budget sketches and musical numbers mostly using little more than cardboard boxes for props. Dark, edgy and dangerous are not words that you need in your vocabulary when describing an hour with Pappy’s. Often reminiscent of Morecambe and Wise, this is humour from a bygone era with wince-inducing puns and the silliest of throwaway gags.

There is so much about this that shouldn’t work and yet the sheer enjoyment the trio have with the material and each other is infectious. The knowing looks and asides create a remarkable sense of complicity within the audience so that you feel part of the whole process as opposed to just acting as a witness. They may have taken the ‘Fun’ out of their name but it certainly hasn’t been removed from the performance.

Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 7.20pm, £12–£14 (£10.50–£12.50).