It’s 6.30pm and I’m singing along as images of war and kittens, such cute kittens, flash up on a screen. This is my first time but, within a minute, I know I’m in love with Delete The Banjax.Back at Edinburgh for their third year, this sketch comedy foursome - Caroline, Daniel, Gareth and Samuel - have nailed it. Effortlessly avoiding any of the pitfalls associated with the genre, it’s a tightly written hour performed by comedians who know exactly what they’re doing. Personal favourites include Hitler, created with a gaffer-tape moustache, invading Europe because he’s lost his wallet (‘It’s not in Poland, it’s not in France... It must be in Russia...’), inept parents who feed their newborn son Babybel and a Roman gladiator who thinks ‘The Lion’ is a nickname. Best of all is a running gag on re-branding. A brainstorming list appears on the screen. ‘Debt Fete’ and ‘ego soiree’ are alternative names for this fair festival, while Jamie Oliver gets “school botherer” and “twat vespa”. All these sketches are ready to transfer directly to TV, something I’m convinced will happen for the troupe this year. I, for one, will punch the air with delight when I see their stupid, lovely, smile-inducing faces pop up on the box. Bloody marvellous.
