Twonkey has been bringing his surreal shenanigans to the Fringe for over a decade, and now he’s decided it’s time to up sticks and move to Peru. So, after some introduction from concierge, Lucky Arthur, who appears to be a small doll nailed to a snooker cue, Twonkey sets off to South America, and we get to follow him on his journey like a Road To... movie where Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are a frazzled surrealist and a sad lion puppet with Lenny Henry’s eyes.
Another wonderfully weird hour to enjoy.
The following hour encompasses song requests from elderly fans, erroneous facts about alpacas, incomplete thoughts which hint at future shows, the now legendary ship's wheel of knickers (which raises a cheer from the audience when it appears), tunes on a shruti box, and a sudden segue into a separate narrative in the form of a Transylvanian Finger Fantasy – think polystyrene finger puppets and a sinister voiceover. Indeed, there are a lot of puppets in the show including the aforementioned sad lion Chris Hutchinson, a tiny vampire, and a strangely accurate Steve Martin formed out of sanitary pads and a leftover piece of wood decking.
If, like me, you’re a Twonkey fan and have previously experienced his particular brand of unique storytelling, then this is another wonderfully weird hour to enjoy. If you’re new to this type of clowning, then imagine an episode of Jamie and the Magic Torch where everyone is a little mouldy and Jamie is a middle-aged man. At one point, he can’t locate the pan pipes he needs and crawls around the stage looking for them before heading backstage and opening a huge suitcase to locate them. It’s indicative of how bizarre this show is that we’re not sure if this is part of the show or a genuine mistake. Either way, it’s very funny.
