No imaginary babies are safe in Business Casual: FERAL, a slice of enjoyably daft sketch comedy from American trio Jeremy Elder, Hunter Saling, and Corey Peter Lane. Energetic performance and a raft of madcap antics make for a frenetic and engaging watch.
Energetic performance and a raft of madcap antics make for a frenetic and engaging watch
It doesn’t take long for the tone of the show to be established as the three performers dive into an absurd, mime-based caper accompanied by well-timed audio cues. It makes for a good start, which is built on with longer sketches and also sections of quick-fire one-liners that have a lot more hits than misses.
There’s singing, there’s dance, and there’s sweat as the comics work hard both individually and as an ensemble to garner laughs from the crowd. From Saling’s character suffering a desperately overwrought inner-monologue, to Elder’s weed sommelier, to Peter Lane’s ludicrous Spoonman, they all hit high points throughout the show, occasionally showing the ability to go off script and milk a gag when the audience is responding.
Not all the references in the show have made it through the transatlantic journey as well as the likeable trio. Sections on a series of sensational Sunday events at Madison Square Gardens and a piece of absurdly un-serious serious theatre probably don’t have the impact they might stateside, but the latter is at least saved with a nicely timed call-back in an enjoyable skit about the taste of coffee.
The ending of the show is a high point; a dragon-killing high-farce and high-fantasy sketch transitioning into the sort of moment that makes the Fringe a special event, with music and comedy from across the world coming together in sort-of harmony. It’s a fitting finale to an enjoyable hour of sketch comedy by three very able comedians.
