There are no tickets for The Good, The Bad and The Extra-terrestrials but every audience member is presented with a cowboy hat and a toy revolver to get into the spirit of things. The setting is the Wild West, near the Mexican border - yes, there are some awkward stereotypes - and aliens have just kidnapped the sweetest darn lady you ever did see. It’s time for a grand adventure through every Western trope imaginable, with exaggerated props, costumes and music to match. Basically, this is one big play date with a large group of adult-sized children who have a whole bunch of toys and crazy ideas. Just like children some of the cast take gender bending roles without batting an eyelid and freely incorporate the audience into their fun.
Occasionally it feels like they’d have just as much fun without anyone watching, but their policy seems to be the more the merrier - some of the audience had to stand throughout, shuffling out of the way with every entrance or exit. The Lizard Lounge is a venue that at best could be called cosy and at times it feels the larger-than-life performances will force the audience out of the door. With such proximity, expect to be gripped, spoken to or sat on by at least one actor during the show.
A lot of the humour is madcap but unoriginal or predictable - at one point the audience found themselves Rickrolled and Hitler made an entirely unnecessary cameo for a bad joke. However, a few moments stand out, particularly a tightly performed bit involving Spanish translation. Moreover the actor playing the narrator seems to channel Nathan Fillion throughout, complete with hair-flip and deadpan delivery. Like in any children’s made up game, the plot falls down at the end and there’s an epilogue that’s rather unnecessary, but the whole production is so messily hectic it’d be difficult to expect a solid ending. This is not a grown-up show from the Young Actors Company but if you want to rediscover your childhood imagination they’ll welcome you, cowboy hat in hand.
