EDINBURGH 2023: Review: THE OXFORD REVUE WILL SEE YOU NOW, Just The Tonic at The Caves

The Oxford Revue, one of the most prestigious and well known student comedy groups in the UK, arguably rivaled only by The Cambridge Footlights when it comes to the alumni that has came from their hallowed halls, with the likes of Rowan Atkinson, Stewart Lee, Maggie Smith, Armando Iannucci and members of Monty Python being past members of the troupe. With such big boots to fill, one would expect an hour of tightly packed sketch comedy and laughs a-plenty. Unfortunately, audiences don't recieve much of either.

Beginning the show with a short set of stand-up is Tiff, a female comedian who does warm up the room quite nicely, giving us five minutes or so of bits and routines centered around her decision to study a Masters degree and discussing the wider political climate as a whole. It's a fun and quick five minutes that never overshadow the show but definitely gets the crowd ready for the next hour.

Once the sketches get going it is clear that amongst the majority of performers there are some clear comfort issues as far as performing on stage goes. Of course one can't help but be empathetic of this, those who have never stepped foot on stage couldn't even begin to imagine how nerve-wracking it is and those of us who have performed on stage know exactly how they feel. However, given the higher standard associated with the troupe's past as well as being three weeks into the Fringe, one can't help but feel that perhaps the performers should be a bit more confident at this stage.

The writing certainly seems to be of a better standard than the performances would have you believe, with some pretty funny ideas such as a song listing every single Pope in chronological order and a hostage holding helpline, though admittedly these routines can often find themselves stretched thin and running for far too long.

There is one standout sketch nearer the end of the show in which a Japanese member of the troupe performs a sort of educational presentation discussing how English pronunciation and English spelling can be confusing and difficult for a non-native speaker to understand. As the sketch runs on the presenter impresses with his hilariously clever take down of the English language. It is a sketch which, frankly, saves the show.

The Oxford Revue Will See You Now is a sadly disappointing effort from the respected comedy group, failing to garner much laughs or imprint much of the gags or jokes into the audiences memories. There is some good ideas and the odd sketch or two which get some genuine laughs but performance and writing issues cause for a poor showing from The Oxford Revue.

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