James Smart

AN EXTREMELY MEMORABLE EMERGENCY (3 stars)

C CUBED (Venue 50)

IT’S easy to be cynical about improvised comedy, a genre that often looks as fresh as the back of a fridge. Routines frequently seem like a case of performers yoking the same old jokes and stories to new audience suggestions. When it works, of course, you don’t really care where the gags are coming from. Cambridge graduates The Uncertainty Division’s wheeze is to explain that although they can’t do the show they’ve planned, they can whip something up off the top of their heads. This night, the resulting tale sees two badgers escape from the biscuit tin that has been their home for seven years into a world of infidelity, true love, chocolate factories and comedic Welsh accents, before ending their quest as puppets in front of a waterfall at the world’s western edge.

Inevitably, the humour doesn’t always stick, but the young cast fling themselves into the proceedings with an infectious enthusiasm and are clever enough to spin their stories into a satisfying narrative that is both utterly ridiculous and rather sweet.

Until 30 August.

Originally published in The Scotsman on 9th August, 2004. We are not responsible for the contents of external links.