Review: EDINBURGH 2024: SHEEPS: THE GIGGLE BUNCH (THAT'S OUR NAME FOR YOU) - Pleasance Courtyard
The production ran until 25 August
“Oh baby, you gotta laugh”
Sheeps: The Giggle Bunch (That's Our Name For You) has been performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for over a decade, and now they’re bringing what may be their final show to the Pleasance. We jump right in with a sketch, in which a man is struggling to understand why they have made Superman gay and worrying about how “woke” things are becoming.
The sketch, however, goes past this concept, going into the concept of “Life just keeps going and going” with the sketch continuing as characters leave, with eventually only one performer remaining on stage.
After the first sketch, we are introduced to the members of Sheeps - Al Roberts, Liam Williams and Daran “Jonno” Johnson. The trio are putting on their first show in six years, having taken a break from performing together after a fight in the Soho Theatre Bar due to what they claim to be poor communication. Having not known the group before this show, I was quite interested in learning about their history, so this bit was welcome for me, though a part of me wishes there had been a bit more detail.
Many of the sketches are based in absurdist comedy, which came as a bit of a surprise to me, though it probably shouldn’t have after the first sketch. And, in case you forget the name of the group, there are sheep sound effects between each sketch, reminding you of who you’re watching. If you’re a fan of absurdist comedy, you’ll probably enjoy most of the sketches in the show. It’s not my favourite style of comedy but I did like quite a few of the sketches - some of them were a bit too much for my taste. There are also some song moments which are questionable compared to the sketches themselves.
A highlight of the show is a sketch about Santa Claus being in the Pentagon, which leads into a PSA-esque segment on kids drinking red wine and ends in an absurd manner with Santa threatening to eat the sun. It’s such a bizarre concept but somehow makes perfect sense within the sketch, showing off the comedic trio’s strengths. Another one of my favourite moments was one of their shorter sketches, focusing on the inspiration behind Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” which had quite a delightful twist at the end.
Finally, the show ends with a sketch that has been made with AI (though a part of me thinks that it wasn’t). The group claims that this is “some of the funniest stuff we’ve ever done,” and though it is pretty funny, it was a bit of an anticlimactic ending for what might be Sheep’s swan song.
Sheeps: The Giggle Bunch (That's Our Name For You) is a fun, if slightly confusing collection of sketches. According to Sheeps, this is going to be their last show for a long time, as they say, “We’re gonna tuck Sheeps in for a nice long nap.” I do hope to see at least one more show from them in the future.
Sheeps: The Giggle Bunch (That's Our Name For You) runs until 25 August at Pleasance Courtyard - Pleasance Two.
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