The Grandees: BaBoom! @ Underbelly

As the audience streams into the room, they are greeted by one of The Grandees – in a fat suit, suspenders, and a bald cap, handing out digestives. This is Marny Godden, one of three of this sketch troupe. The other two, Tom Turner and Andrew Mudie, play a host of characters in various night gowns and accents that never fail to get laughs. The Grandees concentrate their Fringe show in three intricate and complex sketches with fantastical plot lines and character back stories, rather like a fairy tale or cartoon.

Grandees is a show that can’t quite make up its mind if it’s for children or adults. It’s what a children’s’ game of make-believe would be if staged by adults – with sexy cross-dressing owls. The audience was a mixture of families that the actors cheerily included in the show, and adults laughing at the sexual jokes. For some reason, despite the potential to be a rare moment of playtime for adults, the two elements just don’t gel. The show is sometimes very funny, sometimes a bit awkward.

The eccentric sketches are a delight to follow. Sound machine operating heroes defeating evil cyborg aliens disguised as Irishmen in leggings. Dilapidated boarding school teachers trying out a bit of new ageism and collapsing all of time and space in the process. A young girl forced to go head to head with the corrupt owl parliament. Each sketch is really a fully realized story, complete with character development and twists. Although complex story-wise, and equally complicated to describe, somehow their exuberance and stage presence make it work.