Having reviewed and interviewed the Idiots of Ants boys at last year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, I was rather wary to go along this year. Not because I thought it was going to be rubbish – I just didn’t want to not enjoy it as much. After many debates with the seven voices in my head, I ran into Ben from the show and he insisted I go.
It was good to see that the audience size had increased and it also had one of the widest age ranges I have seen in a long time. The Ants are now in the new Pleasance venue of ‘Over The Road.’ A beautiful, converted church that was just the right size for their brand of sketch comedy.
Avoiding all of the obvious topics (swine flu, MJ, etc.) the lads just did what they do best: quickfire, well-written comedy sketches that do nothing more than impress with their originality. Standout sketches being the game console with a twist, Fathers Federation and both the musical numbers – to name but a few.
Once again their use of the audience worked greatly to their advantage. Singling out one specific member each night and, well…if I say it, it will spoil it. You really do have to go along, and if you have the balls, sit in the front row, showing you are up for a laugh.
Their group dynamic, only seems to have gotten stronger, no doubt performances over in Montreal helped with this. You can just tell that these guys just want to impress, improve, make you laugh and enjoy the sixty minutes. It has to have been one of the fastest moving sketch shows I have seen this year.
Overall, I was more than impressed with what they had to offer.
The title of the show is: ‘This Is War’ and if that was it, I can’t wait to see the world domination.
Times: 13-31 August (not 17 & 24) at 8:15pm