Combining a snappy script with some dynamic physical comedy, The Beta Males' new show is one of the highlights of the 2011 Fringe for Emma McAlpine.
There are a lot of clever little touches to the The Train Job that lift the ordinary sketch format to something quite special. One of which, as we file into the room, is a wood-chopping scene already underway, with ominous music playing in the background. The action doesn’t start properly until everyone has taken their seats but it creates a certain air of anticipation in the crowd: this isn’t going to be your run-of-the-mill sketch show.
Like their 2010 production The Bunker, The Train Job has a narrative running through it with all four members playing lots of different roles in the same story. It begins with the champagne-swilling villain of the piece Evelyn Sands (played by John Henry Falle), introducing his new high-speed ‘Olympus’ train to the world on its maiden journey from London to Edinburgh Waverley. On board are Secretary of State Hammond (Richard Soames) and corrupt former MP, Stephen Byers (Jon Gracey). Hammond persuades Byers to try and steal the plans to the new “propulsion system” but first he has to get past Cyril, Sands’ dim-witted nephew (Guy Kelly).
Along the way we meet all sorts of characters on board the train from ticket dodgers to lovers, stowaways, criminals, detectives and detectives posing as criminals, each with their own tale to tell. The Betas are well-versed by now in appointing each other suitably comic roles. Casting the least feminine member (the bearded John Henry) as a woman ensures they milk every last drop of humour from the lovers sketch, as he gets more and more amorous with his increasingly disgusted ‘beau’ Jon Gracey. Then there’s Richard Soames who, with his big brown eyes and trembly lip, is simultaneously adorable and hilarious as a little girl.
With a snappy dialogue and plenty of cracking lines, the Betas demonstrate some strong script-writing skills. Yet what really impresses is their innate sense of physical comedy and timing. One of the best sketches has no words whatsoever; the laughs come from their cartoon-like expressions and a clever, unexpected twist. With little but a sign or two and some chairs, they create a seemingly tangible world of engine rooms, acrid smoke and railway towns; at times, even drawing the audience into the set. The pace then builds towards an almighty climax, neatly tying up all the story threads and culminating in a rocking power ballad.
It’s another very slick show from the Beta Males, who, having cast their newcomer status behind them this year, can now surely be classed as one of the best sketch troupes on the circuit.
The Beta Males: The Train Job will be at the Pleasance Dome from 10th-29th August at 4:20pm
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