‘Mid-Laugh Crisis’ ReVue 23/24 Troupe Review

‘A suitably fabulous conclusion to a great year of sketch comedy!’

The Durham Revue’s ‘Mid-Laugh Crisis’ concluded its 2024 season back on home turf, in front of a jam-packed Assembly Rooms auditorium, in style.

After a hugely successful run at both Durham and Edinburgh Fringe, the outgoing Troupe trampled back up to Durham (six of the eight have graduated!) for one last hilarious hurrah. Centred around the troupe turning fifty years old and opening a time capsule with a delightfully ambiguous curse, it’s not long until we’re full throttle into around twenty sketches, with a mishap of different characters and scenarios.

The actors are all great and play very well off each other; after thirty shows or so, though, it’s obvious they have a tight-knit connection. Another great aspect of the show is they all get to individually shine.

Marc Twinn’s zealous energy is ever-clear in his hilarious Pied Piper impression which sees him gallivanting around the stage in supreme form; his Harry Potter sketch with Melissa Redman (a stand-out throughout with her brilliant facial expressions and knowing glances to the audience) is another highlight thanks to its growing lewdness.

Jay Robinson and Bea Bennett display an impressive range of accents throughout – Robinson shines in his now iconic ‘Dini’ sketch which sees the longest audience interaction of the evening, with a poor volunteer flaunted as a ‘SLAG’ thanks to an aptly-titled eye mask, and Bennett with her ‘herb’-growing elderly lady (a great example of subverting expectations) and hyperbolic Italian Valencia, with her over-the-top mannerisms and speech adorned with “it’s giving!”.

Alannah O’Hare is consistently great throughout with her comic timing, and shines in the Brian Cox sketch, with a pitch-perfect impression and hilariously uncanny wig. This is one of the only sketches that is called back later in the show, and, whilst I would like to have seen this happen a bit more, it worked really effectively here.

Lex Irish tops up this year’s performing troupe with a solid performance. His impression of Shaggy in the Mystery Inc. sketch (which really takes advantage of the group’s uncanny resemblance to the murder-solving quartet) is so funny, and his complete breakdown onstage as Brian Cox interrupts his date is equally entertaining.

The troupe definitely relies on longer sketches to get them over the edge – not that there aren’t some shorter golden nuggets; the punchline of the ‘Big Cook, Little Cook’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ sketches are some of the best of the evening – but some sketches do feel a little long in their run time (although I’ll admit - I have seen these a number of times throughout the year).

Still, it’s hard to deny that this is ultimately a great show, and the troupe deserves all the success. Credit must also go to Writer/Co-President dynamic duo Tegan Booker and Jack Simmonds for their dedication throughout the year. A suitably fabulous conclusion to a great year of sketch comedy!

By Ollie Cochran.