An hour long sketch show full of ‘Art’, egotism and arses,
They obviously know their stuff, and know what they like: cock jokes and dumb humour aplenty keep the audience laughing throughout.
The three-man sketch troupe WMD is made up of University of Lancaster alumni Ben Winterton, Ryan McCann and Tom Dransfield who make regular online content in addition to their live shows.
A musical opening demonstrates their well-rehearsed, nicely choreographed comedic craft which they maintain throughout the show, giving it a cohesive shape. They obviously know their stuff, and know what they like: cock jokes and dumb humour aplenty keep the audience laughing throughout. Their greatest strength lies in over the top characterisations, bringing their sketches to life with eccentric persons. Highlights include a collection of posh actors, ‘maze man’ and some crazy mash ups of Shakespearean characters with figures from Die Hard.
Each member of the group has a clear persona: the self-centred one, the artiste and the one who likes arses, which are played upon over the course of the show as they pull the show together with the standard narrative structure of the sketch troupe putting on the sketch show.
Their banter between sketches, with each other and the audience, works to give the show shape, but sometimes the energy drops, leaving you feeling that the show could do with a little more oomph to keep it going.
Too often it feels that sketches fall back on predictable punchlines and expletives to make a cheap gag, but then this seems to be part of their aesthetic. Their strongest sketches are those where their surreal sense of humour brings out ridiculous scenarios, out of the real world, such as the silly sketch about lentils, a piece of audience interaction involving a hat, a mannequin and a windy day... The musical, arty interlude in the middle of the show and their finale number show off some wonderfully creative stagecraft.
More of this sort of thing would be exciting to see, but as it stands the show still has enough packed in to amuse and entertain.
