If there’s one thing Idiots of Ants can’t be accused of, it’s a lack of enthusiasm. From the moment they bound onstage they produce an hour-long barrage on the senses. The opening conceit – that the venue’s audience are actually stationed as a fixture of the Idiots’ flat – sets a high benchmark for both energy and ideas. Though some of the material fails to match up to this mark, the general quality of the sketches that follow is high enough, and they are paced well enough, to ensure hilarity ensues over the next hour.What is really striking about this show is how much of a group effort it is from start to finish. Sketch groups can often be dominated by one or two totemic members leaving others in the shade, but Idiots of Ants always prioritise the scenario over the performers. This allows the best sketches to really shine, with all four equally committed to letting the scene unfold – such as a swingers party populated by glove puppets which falls into a bizarre handheld orgy, and a silent heist unfolding entirely through flip-charts in a bugged flat. The exception to the rule is a standout performance by Andrew Spiers as a disgruntled bee warning a local church fête off his honey – his East End growl and a particularly unflattering costume combine to create comic gold.However, when the scenario itself doesn’t have much mileage, the four performers can cancel each other out, throwing their energy against a thin idea. Some sketches are energetically performed but simply peter out – such as a group of soldiers controlled as Xbox 360 characters, and a scene gravitating around ‘audio books’ that are audibly ‘read’ in a train carriage. These are sharp ideas, but once they are established they aren’t strong enough to anchor punchlines over a three-minute scene, and end on flat notes.The worst case examples include audible ‘Real Life Disney’ segments in between sketches. In theory, a good idea to speed-up transitions, but in practice one-line sketches that have no pay-off.Despite this, the energy of their performances and the strength of their best sketches are enough to carry this enjoyable hour – even though in future they ought to be more ruthless in cutting out scenes to create an hour without lags and low points. With a couple of cuts, this hour could have been perfect. But once we reach the show’s conclusion – a masterly transformation of sections of the audience into different parts of an ‘air orchestra’ – the low points are forgotten. The bulk of the hour is bursting with ideas, dynamism, and great laughs that prove the Ants are moving from strength to strength.
