one4review | On 13, Aug 2025

2025 marks the Fringe debut for American comedy group Simple Town and their self-titled sketch show. There was a certain buzz in the audience as we filed in that implied that many were anticipating a tight hour of all the bizarre situations and gags that is unique to sketch comedy from a show that had already completed successful tours across the US and London. However, as the show continued, that buzz quieted to a hum and had all but dissipated by the end of the show.

The elephant in the room here is that this is not – at least, not by any usual definition – a sketch show as such, it is an improv show. While the performers blur the lines enough that it’s hard to tell exactly, the show appears to consist of a series of set-ups for sketches – an awkward meeting between friends, a military briefing, a murder at a country house, etc – which the four performers then start noodling about with to find the funny. The fact that the show is advertised as sketch comedy – and that the actors themselves refer to the sketches as “written” at points, made me wonder if this is a lost in translation issue and this type of improv is just more commonly called sketches in the US (where, for better or worse, improv is king of alternative comedy) or if it was some deliberate attempt to muddy the waters for the audience. Either way, there was an almost audible “oh” when the audience cottoned on that a sketch would only end when exhausted, and not when it reached any sort of punchline.

As a general rule, I’m not improv’s biggest fan, so I’m not entirely in the best place to judge the effectiveness of this show. For me, improv is a bit like bagpipes – showy, awkward and extremely irritating unless in the hands of a true master. Simple Town are certainly not the worst exponents of the craft I’ve seen and managed to navigate their way through sketches with sufficient gags and the occasional moment of true comedic genius. Nothing jaw-dropping but certainly nothing toe-curling either. The thought I kept coming back to was how much better every sketch would have been if they’d just written these sketches down, workshopped them and then brought them on stage with proper punchlines and narratives rather than giving us only the half-baked versions.

If you’re a fan of improv games and shows, this might entirely be your cup of tea, but for me, I’d like it to brew a bit longer.

***

Reviewed by Tom

Pleasance Courtyard – Above

20.00 (1hr)

Until 24 Aug