The four brilliant men who are The Three Englishmen put on a sketch show that will have you in stitches. This is comic excellence. Optimists is a compilation of short scenes, songs and one-liners, each and every one hilarious and destined for success. It is a wonder these four guys do not have their own television programme as the nature of the show could be transferred extremely easily. All I can say is that it’s BBC Three’s loss and Edinburgh’s gain as their raw talent has not yet been tainted by an excess of money being thrown at it, we are simply left with this comedy dynamite. Optimists mocks modern culture with scripted sketches including a snippet into the life of a young Lady Gaga at school in which she profoundly tells her headteacher, whilst wearing trademark ridiculous glasses, ‘creation is a dirty dog and I am a hungry b***h’. This is one of many fabulous lines in the witty sketch. Darting from crafted scenes the guys then jump head first into simply wonderful one-liners. The simplicity seems obvious but the audience, including myself, were in fits of laughter. Optimists is a show which puts the audience at ease; unlike so many other comedy shows at the Fringe there is no sense of panic as to whether the next joke will be funny or not. These performers are confident, and deservedly so. There are too many great moments to name them all and it would ruin the magic when you go to see The Three Englishmen, which you of course will or else you’d be totally mad. The final song of the show is, unsurprisingly, hilarious and tells the tale of how the four men first started performing together. Although, they each have slightly conflicting memories told from the perspectives of Freddie Mercury, Carrie Bradshaw and Mr T, each of whom were part of their own famous foursome. Perhaps The Three Englishmen are set for the combined success of Queen, Sex and the City and The A Team. Well, perhaps that’s a bit too hopeful but they are definitely heading in the right direction.
