By Amy Toledano

Magnificent Bastard Productions have had a fantastic few years with their Shitfaced shows, selling out Edinburgh regularly as well as having wonderful London and touring runs. This year’s instalment of Shitfaced Showtime is no exception to pandemonium that credits this show with it’s appeal.

With some new faces and returning ones, this cast is quick on their feet, energetic and most importantly, entertaining as hell. A full theatre welcomes this evening’s MC Alan McHale, who has no problem controlling the room as he explains the rules and rundown of the show.

A mash-up of MT classics, and following the (loose) storyline of Oliver!, the cast comes out with their first number. It is immediately clear who the drunk is. Jessica Hern giggles her way through the song and has the audience in stitches as she attempts to stick to her lines in the title role of Oliver.

While the biggest draw of the shows humour comes from the idea that a drunk person needs to sing, dance and get themselves through a musical, more often than not it is the remaining, sober, cast who provide the biggest laughs. Incredibly quick improvisation is a must here. The entirety of the cast do so with ease, keeping the storyline moving forward to the best of their ability, no matter how off-book the drunk actor gets.

It is impossible to really review a show that is always different, totally dependant on the drunk and sober actors, but this particular show is slick (or as slick as a show like this can be). But it remains silly, witty and achieves its main goal without any problem – being a whole (chunder) bucket of fun.

Shitfaced Showtime runs through 9 September.

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