Squirrel Party

Article by Renée Rowland | 24 Aug 2011

Squirrel Party is nuts. If ever a show could go from tame to wild, nay, mad in 50 minutes, this one certainly does. Structured as a parody of an 80s kids' TV programme, the show features an overly amiable host, Chesley Chippenham, and his comely dungaree wearing assistant, Crafty Cath. The pair go from needy and demure respectively, to psychotic and brazen. Other creatures join them in their descent to a Hobbesian-esque nightmare. It’s part societal satire, part unhinged kids show with R18 excerpts.

Entertaining in parts and elsewhere just plain odd, the show never really identifies itself as anything except a chaotic, demented 50 minutes in a black curtained room. And unfortunately the squirrels are neither cute nor memorable, but essentially just pun fodder. 

Throughout the show, between being buckled with genuine and warranted laughter, I frequently had to ask myself what the fuck was actually going on. To this day I am still not certain but the chaos is so stark it lingers in my memory.

Squirrel Party, C Soco, 6-29 August, 19:55, £9.50

http://www.Cthefestival.com