Boris and Sergey II Perilous Escapade @ Pleasance Courtyard

Appearing at this year’s Fringe with their new show Boris and Sergey II Perilous Escapade, this is a chance to revisit the production which started it all off for Flabbergast Theatre’s Balkan duo. The coarse and swindling twosome present a ‘traditional’ evening of vaudevillian entertainment while also playing a poker game with some audience members.

Boris and Sergey are puppets, each controlled by three performers and voiced by one of each trio. Despite the non-lifelikeness of the characters, the well-rehearsed physicalisation by the black clad manipulators gives their brown and grey bodies the discerning illusion of life. Unfortunately, once you get past the impressive manoeuvrings, there is little substance to entertain. The script is weak, relying heavily on profanities and cheap gags, and while the ramshackle nature of the piece does at first fit with the mood, it soon begins to drag. There are entertaining moments, particularly when one self-aware figure shakes off his human assistant, resulting in a limp and non-functioning arm. It’s these instances, deconstructing the traditional status of controller and controlled, where the production’s strengths lie. Flabbergast Theatre have an interesting concept and are undoubtedly highly skilled in their field, they just need to put a little more thought into the content of their show and they’ll have created their winning formula.