The Oxford Imps have a big reputation on the student comedy scene, a reputation that wasn't fully realised at the last of their preview performances. Although boasting obviously talented performers, the show suffered from a confused structure, a slow pace and some really bad jokes which prevented it from maximising these abilities.The performance consists of a number of games and ensemble pieces which are met with varying degrees of success. Games which failed to capture the audience were allowed to go on for far too long; an obviously Whose Line is it Anyway?-style round yielded a number of poor one liners related to vacuum cleaners. The natural charm of the performers prevented the audience from being completely lost, but the show never managed to pick up any real momentum.The last segment was easily the strongest: an improvised musical about McDonald's curiously named ‘Flying Fox’ by a member of the audience. Unfortunately it seemed over far too soon, and it was a shame this segment wasn't given more of a chance to grow. The improvised sketch sections showed off the performers' strong comedic timing and I was left wondering why the performance hadn't made more of these abilities at the expense of activities they seemed less confident at.In this show full of potential but suffering from a structure which didn't allow it to be properly realised, there were plenty of laughs but too few and far between. The hodgepodge of different segments, some too short and some far too long, left the performance lacking momentum and energy. However there were some gems in with the rough and, with three more weeks worth of performances there is every chance that this will be a genuinely good show by the end of the festival.
