There is a clear, and very much appreciated Python influence at the start of this show as two hooded monks glide onto the stage humming in a mysterious medieval tone. The hoods are then dispensed with and Dr Glen Eusebius (Tom Williams of YouTube ‘Gap Yah’ semi-fame) and Professor John Porcupig (Matt Lacey) launch into a rip off of Huey Lewis’ ‘Power of Love’. This epitomises the bewitching unpredictability of the set.The off-the-wall premise of the show is that Eusebius and Porcupig are two members of the ancient ‘Mythmason’ society, whose function is the creation and dissemination of false (and often scurrilous) rumours. The audience is educated in history according to John and Glen, including how constructing the ‘carrots help you see in the dark’ myth was the main factor in defeating Hitler. The fact that this is one of the less absurd moments of the show highlights the bountiful vagaries of the set. It is a script that can only be written by a certain zany intellect, one that this duo collectively has in bucket loads.What sometimes detracts from the performance is overzealous acting; in a manner one might expect from someone trying to outshine his colleagues in a school assembly play. Despite this, it was a delightfully preposterous show, with a denouement that was particularly rib-tickling. In some bizarre initiation ceremony, a ginger child called Joe was called onto stage to swear on a Ken Dodd autobiography (the Mythmason bible) before flagellating Porcupig’s bare bottom with a wooden paddle. While this was amusing enough, the look of horror on various parents’ faces as they realised the 12+ rating in the Fringe guide may have been a tad fallacious was even more entertaining.
