CowsDrinkMilk presents a series of hilarious sketches brought to life by six slick actors and actresses. Energetic, fast-paced and often immaculately timed, there was hearty laughter amongst the audience at regular intervals. Dealing with a variety of themes which allowed the actors to show off a large scope of artistic experimentation, the sketches were very surreal and ranged from the delivery of a pumpkin in a maternity ward to a speaking, demonic oven and a parody of ITV’s much loved Poirot. Placed in the most unlikely of circumstances, many of the sketches relied upon the dynamism and sincerity of the actors to relay the humour: the range of material was ambitious but mostly paid off.                       

Accompanied by a quirky soundtrack, there’s a strong sense of originality throughout and though the sketches are each inherently separate, links drawn between them (such as recurring references to Alan Yentob), brought a quality of linear continuation. Generally, the script was good, with variations in pace and enough awkward pauses for the audience to squirm uncomfortably, in keeping with the general vibe of hectic chaos.                   

Each of the characters brought a quality of their own to the entertainment – the gormlessness of Tom Fraser in portraying a nursery school worker, funeral director and frustrated theatre director yielded especial comic value, while the whole cast gelled well and bounced off each other’s humour. Collectively, there wasn’t a weak link in the chain.

In general, the facial expressions and dramatic physical movements which highlighted comedic elements throughout the play aided hilarity, though it was a shame that the sharp humour which characterised the initial sketches began to give way to repetitive puns towards the end. By the time the sketch show reached its dramatic climax, ensuing in a fight between members of the cast and the booming audio of a talk show host, I found myself confused and a little baffled as to what exactly had happened.

Though some of the sketches were more amusing than others, each of the participants pulled off professional performances which were smoothly executed and visually impressive. It was an imaginative and creative collation of comedy which intertwined serious comment on human nature with the truly bizarre, to produce something quite unique.