Sheeps @ Pleasance Dome

Liam Williams, Alastair Roberts and Daran Johnson look surprisingly like a boy band but they know they can’t sing and they revel in it. The same self-awareness runs all the way through their first Fringe-show together since 2015, which is both a celebration of friendship and a reminder of what it feels to hang out with people who know each other so well that their in-jokes have become part of everyday language. This doesn’t make spending time with them any less fun, and occasional smugness aside, the show is crafted with love and respect for comedy and its audience.

There are surreal elements, subtle but effective comments on politics – including a brilliant sketch about Syrian migration – and musical numbers that are so silly they will make anyone laugh. Some sketches go on a bit and some end on the wrong beat but overall this is clever stuff. It’s not slick but it’s not meant to be. Sheeps’ relaxed approach is contagious and as a spectator, you know you’re in safe hands from the moment they appear in sparkly jackets and top hats. They end the show in the same cabaret style, and as they belt out their final song you do hope – apart from one day understanding the name of the show – that this trio will come back together again next year.

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Sheeps: Live and Loud Selfie Sex Harry Potter, Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), 1-27 Aug (not 10, 11 & 25), 7pm, £7-14

Scroll on to read more of The Skinny's 2018 Edinburgh Fringe comedy reviews; click here for a round-up of all the best reviews from this year's comedy and theatre programmes