Following the introductions of the show, we were treated to the advertised “Special Guests”, which ended up being the Durham Revue’s writers, Samuel Bentley and Nat Pryke, who performed a stand-up routine on the theme of Fathers’ Day, given the show took place on the day itself. They went through the troupe’s fathers, making light humour out of them, very similar to the humour presented by the likes of Nick Mohammed or Adam Buxton in dictionary corner on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. While it is a shame that none of the sketch comedy groups from Manchester, Oxford or York were available, this hilarious skit definitely made up for it, and the clear last minute nature of it was no impact on the impeccable delivery or dry wit presented.

Bristol then opened their set with an amazing breaking news parody which was later followed by my favourite sketch of the entire first act, a soap opera of people that talk with kazoos – the perfect level of ridiculousness to tickle my sense of humour. I would have appreciated a more succinct punchline, as with a few of their sketches, but that didn’t really take away from the hysterics I was in throughout their performance.

The boundless energy of both troupes was incredible

A key part of sketch comedy is over-exaggerated pastiches of known characters. This was done excellently by Kit Del-Gatto of the Revunions, with an excellent Boris Johnson impression on his work experience at Peppa Pig World, which had the entire audience in fits of laughter. Their wonderfully tragic snowman was also a phenomenal foil to Fred Wright.

I’m a sucker for returning bits in sketch shows, and the recurring Siren performance was an excellent example of why this is so good, especially the final occurrence, parodying the sinking of the Titanic. Historical parodies are another key part of sketch comedy, something the Durham Revue did excellently this year, with sketches of the Battle of Troy, the Gunpowder plot and the Three Wise Men amongst their set, bringing the audience to hysterics every time.

The curse of being a regular to the Revue is that I did recognise a few of their sketches from previous performances, including the ever-funny Gollum performance of Lex Irish opposite Alannah O’Hare’s Fiona Bruce, in a timeless parody of Antiques Roadshow. Other notably funny skits were the classic brief wordplay sketches, forming puns on Elon Musk or mental health which were funny as ever.

Absurdity is paramount when parodying well known television, which could not have been demonstrated better than Phoenix Ashworth’s lizard in the satire of a David Attenborough documentary, where the commanding voice of Lex Irish as Attenborough led to some of the most outrageous but at the same time hilarious scenes of the entire evening.

I would thoroughly recommend both of these troupes if anyone is going up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year

One final aspect of the show that I loved was the audience participation scene, where Alannah, or should I say Ocean Breeze, invited two unsuspecting audience members, Luke and Izzy, on stage and got them to do ridiculous things such as balance half a bottle of fizzy drink on their head. The highlight of this entire skit was Luke’s impeccable flying ant impression, leaving the audience breathless.

The boundless energy of both troupes was incredible, but perfectly exemplified by Trevs’ own Alice Barr in her mock Holland and Barratt Advert for “Shut the F*** Up”, which was excellently followed up in a callback skit towards the end of the show. Jude Battersby again is excellent in demonstrating this high energy approach to performance, with the audience in stitches throughout his performances.

In a wonderfully circular moment, the Durham Revue’s half of the show both started and ended with an incredible use of physical comedy as Lex Irish’s extending arms feature as a prominent but unmentioned plot point (describing these scenes does not do justice just how ridiculous and funny it was).

I would thoroughly recommend both of these troupes if anyone is going up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, where they are both performing hour long sets. That said, the increasing burden of the fringe cannot be ignored, and the Durham Revue’s own Alannah O’Hare spoke to the Guardian about this issue.

Image: Durham Revue