Joseph Morpurgo – Truthmouth

Joseph Morpurgo (Austentatious, Monkey Toast) brings his intelligent character comedy to the Fringe, having teamed up with Truthmouth for his latest collaboration. Easily transferring between a diverse range of sketches, the audience find themselves taken in by some surprisingly dark characters.

But with dark comes light, from the impromptu R. Kelly appearance to a theatrical interpretation of his own technical assistant being in love with him. Even in his most fleeting of character interfaces, there is a story to grasp, and that's a key reason for the show's success. There is always a plot of sorts, whether it's to show the dichotomy of a school lunchtime, or just to take someone's personality to the extreme.

Few have the prowess to encapsulate the emotions of a group of pixels on a Nokia 3310, but this results in Morpurgo's most interesting skit. Over the course of his hour, some sketches prove weaker than others, but the show amps up excitement for his faux-verbatim eccentricities. A startlingly witty show, combining an abundance of themes including misery, technology, art and possession by the devil, and a definite must-see in the free Fringe. [Heather McDaid]