Clever Peter at Edinburgh Fringe: Review

For the eagle-eyed, Clever Peter poses a mysterious question: what happened to the green girl? In the Fringe programme, four comedians line up cheerily in brightly coloured jumpers: three boys in red, yellow and blue and a girl in green. Yet when the Clever Peter troupe greet us in the appropriately named Joker Dome there’s no sign of her anywhere and all female roles are played with the male counterparts donning a ginger wig.

Clever Peter is billed as ‘Enid Blyton on acid’ – it’s a high-energy sketch show from three jolly English chaps who, due to the immense heat in the venue, might regret opting to wear their trademark attire. You never know what to expect with sketch shows, they traditionally provide the best and worst comedy on offer at the Fringe. Clever Peter definitely falls into the former category: it’s clever, fast-paced and, crucially, very funny. Sketches include a hilarious Olympic-style commentary of a first date where slow-action replays reveal what the eye missed, a scarily overfriendly girlfriend’s father and libidinous gorillas with plastic penises thrown into the mix for good measure.

Clever Peter is a delightful show. The sketches include just the right amount of adult humour without relying on it and the trio are vibrant performers who provide a tip-top example of dynamic and intelligent comedy. Clever Peter is really very good; the only let-down being that they haven’t yet created the buzz they so rightly deserve this festival season.