Jimmy Savile: The Punch and Judy Show

It's normally a bad sign when the performers beg the reviewer not to name them. You can understand why though: the subject matter is still an open wound, and there's potential for this whole thing to be an ill-judged catastrophe.

In fact, it's actually good, knockabout fun done in a deliberately half-arsed way. The cardboard puppets get their debut at tonight's performance, having been absent for the first two shows, and they are pleasingly crap. There's no plot as such, with Performer A admitting that he only read half of Savile's Wikipedia entry, while Performer B watched 15 minutes of the BBC documentary before iPlayer broke. They both seem only vaguely aware of whatever plot they agreed on, although Performer A is admirably committed to staying in character as Savile the whole time.

So what you get is some improv fun in a small venue that feels like someone's living room. It's a party vibe, with people occasionally dragged in from the adjoining bar to be unwitting characters in the story. It's not big or clever, but the title should cause you to expect neither. It's also not as tasteless as you might think. It's just a bit of craic. How's about that then? [Bernard O'Leary]