Sketch Club 7 has six members. Five guys and an inflatable girl. The girl, incidentally, manages to provide a brief cameo as Stalin.
Sketch Club 7 may be pubescent, but they’re already performing like professionals.
If that doesn’t spark your interest, the knowledge that this sketch troupe are making their Fringe debut at the tender ages of 16 and 17 might. Don’t let their glistening faces of innocence put you off however. Impressively, Night of My Life’s tone rarely touches on the horribly immature but rather amuses with gentle cleverness and increasing charm.
Not one weak member amongst them, Sketch Club 7 entertain with a fast-paced hour crammed full with skits. From silly superhero stand-offs to coquettish crack-heads, from the theory of “coma” to homosexual political policies, their sketches are tight, slick and most importantly, rather funny.
The best audience response is conjured with the aforementioned crack-heads. Recurring characters Marie and Mary are two Scottish biddies discussing life’s problems, only digressing from the world’s woes to snort a line or two. OAP drug addicts: a real crowd-pleaser.
Popular too are the good doctor/bad doctor sketches where natural comic timing shines through. A skilful portrayal of the English teacher’s brain in a surgeon’s body is terrifyingly brilliant.
If young sketch troupes aren’t overrun by sexual humour, they often fall into the trap of hubris. Trying to be too intelligent, too meta, too off-the-wall. Sketch Club 7, in contrast, are the kings of moderation. Often too wary to offer political commentary, any attempt at satire is followed by manic dancing. Cringe-worthy? Perhaps. But I secretly (or not so secretly) loved it.
Unfortunately a couple of sketches, most notably a film noir spoof, started with real promise and failed to pack a punch. Many were mildly amusing without managing to spark raucous laughter. Yet the boys’ charisma elicits your compassion. They are so likeable that you will them on. Was the breaking of the fourth wall skit obvious? Yes, of course, but I couldn’t not empathise with the disgruntled builder.
As for the finale sketch; the story of comedic duo Edward Barron and Simon Hall, it was awkwardly built off a bad joke. I don’t know whether it was the film trailer, Loose Women interview and stripping documentary presenter that followed, but something hilarious came out of nothing. Persistence is key, it seems. Let’s hope the boys carry that same mentality into next year’s Fringe and beyond.
Sketch Club 7 may be pubescent, but they’re already performing like professionals.
