Guilt and Shame

This shows starts as a disaster and gets worse. Within five minutes, Gabriel Bisset-Smith and Robert Cawsey are apologising and advising how to claim a refund, before an unexpected intervention from an audience member means that the show must go on. At knifepoint.

Welcome to Guilt & Shame, a highly experimental sketch show that takes a sledgehammer to any idea of structure. Sketches are abandoned mid-way, people walk in and out of the room, performers have complete breakdowns while performing, audience members get drafted in to play characters, and all the way through there is a threat of violence.

It's extremely ambitious but doesn't always hit the target. They're a bit too quick to let the prepared sketches to break down, and the sense of threat is so real that you wonder if they might not be better off doing this as a dramatic piece. At times it's more Mike Leigh than Monty Python.

In more experienced hands, this could be brilliant. As it stands, it's interesting but patchy, with a couple of unforgettable moments such as the porn mime at the beginning and end of the show. Worth seeing despite its flaws.