Almond Roca is one of the strangest and funniest things you are likely to see at the Fringe. An utterly nonsensical show which bases itself largely on the religious worship of almonds, it compels and bamboozles for the duration of the piece in the best possible way.
A strong opening sets the scene for an hour of hilarity. The audience is plunged into the deep end of the bizarre world of almond worship as a beatboxing almond sack transforms into a Scandinavian singer and serenades us with a Shirley Bassey classic. Scenes and songs alike are very much in-your-face, forcing the audience to join in and embrace the weirdness of the images presented to them.
A couple of the seemingly worst rehearsed scenes were funny in the wrong way – I found myself unable to laugh unless out of embarrassment for the majority of a scene starring androgynous tour guide Zuma Puma. The scene felt cobbled-together and didn’t add anything to the cabaret, apart for some extra time for a quick costume change. This said, other apparently under-rehearsed sections were hilarious for all the right reasons; a true or false game was improved by our penguin host’s inability to hit the gong, and the way the audience eventually guided him towards it was a brilliant piece of spontaneous interaction with the show.
Whether this show is good or bad is a very difficult question. At times it was brilliantly funny and had the whole audience in hysterics, while at others it was awkward and a little uncomfortable. I am inclined to think that, either way, this might just be a masterpiece. I certainly thoroughly enjoyed myself.
This show has to be seen to be believed. It may not be perfect, but Almond Roca is a brilliantly funny evening, and well worth attending with a large group of friends.
