‘I do say, give us another!’ is the tragic cry of mediocrity from an improv show that is several decades too late for salvation. Marching out on stage in their matching red blazers, the campers deliver an abysmal performance that emerges as one of the worst Fringe shows this year in an act that is worse than
Good Morning, Campers is a lost cause better left in the past.
Good Morning, Campers hinges upon the audience’s participation for their impromptu routine. You write down phrases on pieces of card before entering which get read out during the performance as part of the act in their series of audience ‘games’. Whilst a good idea, the execution of this is poor. Likewise, the alphabet game is clever but not funny, and it becomes clear that halfway through they’ve already planned out what phrases to say in advance. Even if you have the urge to shout so many inappropriate things when the audience is called upon, the cast makes sure not to take certain answers. If ‘herpes’ is rejected on the grounds of being ‘too far’ then I hate to imagine what would happen if you were to shout out the c-word.
Because the campers are stuck in the fifties, the humour is way too tame to be amusing let alone funny. The only plausible illusion of being set in the past is created by the archaic stereotype phrases such as ‘Jolly good’, and ‘Tally-ho’ that don’t even match the right century. Good Morning, Campers panders to the lowest common denominator, that makes it barely passable as a free fringe show. The patronising and clownish nature of the act is exacerbated by morbid slapstick and tiresome puns that begin to resemble a primary school trip to the panto as audience members trade lollipops for their self-respect. The accent game is disastrously inaccurate, whilst the show ended with an impromptu séance about Nelson Mandela which resorted to flatulence jokes halfway through. The final nail in the coffin was the painful send-off song that had me silently tying my own noose in the back row.
Dire, with absolutely no chance of saving itself, Good Morning, Campers is a lost cause better left in the past. Definitely not worth a free lollipop, this is will rob you of an hour of your life you will never get back nor want to get back. Stay away at all costs, or risk losing more than your self-respect.
