On Tuesday evening, I entered the Corpus Playroom to see a crowd of Footlights-loving students filing into the auditorium alongside me, leaving behind all essence of their exam stress to indulge in an hour of absurd comedy. The full house greeted the performers (James Coward, Eve Delaney, Christian Hines and Sarah Creedy Smith) with enthusiastic applause before the start of the show, in anticipation of what was promised to be a hilarious production. They without a doubt deserved this. The cast of four wrote and performed the entirety of the show in a totally entertaining fashion, with a startling originality and braveness of delivery.

“Salt Water did not leave its audience bored for a second”

Peppered with references to well-known favourites Harry Potter, Mamma Mia and Magic Mike, Salt Water did not leave its audience bored for a second. The brisk changes between scenes kept the audience on the qui-vive. Whether it was at the succession of impressions, the sharp punch-lines, or the incapability of the actors to transition from one scene to the other, struggling with props or lines, the audience kept laughing throughout the whole show.

The set and costumes were pleasantly minimalistic, but the props did cause some trouble to the actors – to the audience’s amusement of course – such was the getting a double-size inflatable mattress out of the way, after a scene of mermaid sex. This is understandable and can be excused by the extremely quick switches between the scenes. Similarly, some forgotten lines also amused the audience. Because of this, however, the show was a little lacking in its rhythm – some punch lines lost their power.

The cast displayed an admirable energy and Eve Delaney’s performance in particular was a highlight. However, despite its original theme, Salt Water is one production of absurd student comedy in a sea of many.

Review: Chameleon

All in all, the audience was promised some laughs and the show did not disappoint. A succession of several loosely linked sketches, performed by Footlights regulars and laden with impressions and jokes. What more could you ask for? Salt Water provides a lovely atmosphere and a wonderful way to divert fraught minds away from the perils of revision. However, one lingering question unfortunately adds a little, shall we say, saltiness to the otherwise palatable proceedings: will it stand its ground at the Fringe?