one4review | On 15, Aug 2023

Brought to us by Gamma Ray Theatre and written by David McCulloch, the so called “true story” of what really happened to Hitler and his cronies at the end of World War 2, is an hour of comedy/satire which is not for the faint hearted.

The action begins with Goebbels, Himmler and Göring on stage, explaining how they managed to find themselves in Yorkshire after the war. They introduce the ‘star of the show’, Adolf Hitler, who bursts on to the stage with much goose-stepping, Nazi salutes and full of plans to start a new Fourth Reich, all delivered in northern English accents. It’s more pantomime than theatre, the show really being a stand-up routine with lots of clever jokes, some even laugh out loud funny … until you realise what you are actually laughing at. The action quickly moves through time, from the end of the second world war to the present day, with some interesting social commentary along the way, including comparisons between Hitler and certain contemporary politicians, not necessarily in a negative way. The final few minutes get a bit messy and confusing, and its difficult to hear some of the comments of a well-known recent US President, which is a shame, because we miss some of what should be a clever and thought-provoking ending.

The show is not quite laugh-a-minute, as some of the jokes didn’t quite hit home, but there are certainly plenty of good one-liners, albeit some are incredibly tasteless, and most are non-politically correct. It’s therefore one to avoid if you’re easily offended, and quite a few of the audience did leave during the show. However, the majority who stayed did laugh their way through 65 minutes of wonderfully edgy Fringe comedy.

***

Reviewed by Howard

the Space@Surgeons Hall – Fleming Theatre

22.15 (1hr 5)

Until 26^th August