The Real MacGuffins are a hilariously funny sketch group that had the audience roaring with laughter. The fast-paced, action-packed series of skits performed by the trio Dan March, Jim Millard and Matt Sheahan were brilliantly innovative, engaging and well-acted.
From the offset the audience were involved, as members were invited to play the piano along with Millard (who happens to have a fantastic singing voice). The three interacted brilliantly with the crowd who cooperated wholeheartedly. Perhaps the funniest bit of the show was the pre-made inner monologue that they had created for a woman who was pulled onto the stage. From the start she had been cast as the object of March’s affections and the monologue asking ‘what am I doing up here?’, ‘why don’t they leave me alone’ was well thought out and extremely funny. The Real MacGuffins really nailed audience participation, succeeding in elevating their show to a level of hilarity rather than reducing it to a cringe-worthy experience (an extremely hard task).
March, Millard and Sheahan certainly made us feel comfortable as soon as we walked into the room, shaking hands and welcoming the guests to their seats. Each had their own role to play – March was self-important yet unlucky in love, Millard eager to please and Sheahan was cast as the disgruntled member who was desperate to be taken seriously. The three bounced off each other well, rattling off pun after pun. They managed to balance the use of bad jokes (and they were all admittedly terrible) with just the right amount of irony and self-deprecation to win over the audience.
The show was extremely well-crafted as they kept jokes running throughout, ensuring continuity to a potentially disjointed set-up. Their skits ranged from a medieval court to the creation of Frankenstein; really something for everyone!
Despite verging on silly, The Real MacGuffins will have you in stitches. Witty, interactive and high-energy, they will certainly not disappoint!
