Establishing a close and friendly connection with the audience would be crucial to the success of Pelican, and the performers achieved this from the outset, as, taking our seats, we were greeted by their waves and smiles as they lay on the floor drawing pictures to decorate the stage. 

Due to the intimacy of Corpus Playroom, an audience may initially feel self-conscious and take a while to settle in to the jokes, but we soon relaxed and the laughter really grew in enthusiasm after each piece. It was impossible not to be drawn in by the amusing and endearing relationships between the performers themselves, who seemed to fully embrace a collective approach to each sketch – these were not four individuals in competition to stand out but a group of friends with a skill for and a love of entertaining. 

As the comedians leapt and danced around the stage, Pelican offered a celebration of escapism and of the infantile - from dressing up as Scooby Doo, to dressing down to their boxers and littering the stage with sweets, oranges and their own saliva. 

Bizarrely, the show managed to maintain a degree of surprise, which kept it engaging and fast paced throughout, whilst also including elements of continuity and a sense of familiarity. One particular sketch that did this effectively was an imagining of Jesus joining the Beatles that was played out over several sections in a highly original and truly hilarious way.

Music was featured as a welcome but fairly minor element to the show and to bridge the gap between scenes the comics instead opted for the rather odd technique of exclaiming “ooooo, ahhhh” to signal the closing of one piece on to another. Whilst some could have found this mildly irritating, the technique fitted its purpose and kept the transitions smooth. 

The performance as a whole felt quite self-aware, with one of my favourite sketches involving a discussion between the actors of ‘The sketches rejected for inclusion in Pelican’. The clever puns and occasional insights into their own personalities were instantly appealing. The show even includes the sometimes-dreaded Audience Participation. However, rather than feeling forced or cringe worthy, it felt like an almost a natural progression from that familiar and intimate relationship the performers had created with their audience.

Of course, it was very difficult to know what to expect from a show whose description is a Wikipedia article, and you may leave feeling equally bewildered as to what had just happened for the last hour and twenty minutes. Nevertheless, Pelican felt truly uplifting, joyful and silly, fulfilling its tagline of being "whatever you want it to be".