We might be by the sea, la mer, in a small French resort. A man walks in to a café and asks for… a coffee? No, two, noir… two black coffees. He’s reading the paper, he steals the paper, there’s a squabble on a train, the phone rings: the French has to stop ! They talk in English. That should make things a little clearer now; but it doesn’t; if it did this wouldn’t be People Show. Over 50 years of alternative theatre: a fusion of performance art, comedy, acrobatics, music; and for this show a scary but charming, remote-controlled, one-eyed mannequin called Maureen.

Each show is different and given an identifying number: this one is People Show 137. It’s tricky to categorise them and that’s probably how they like it. I won’t be the first to describe them as surreal, Pythonesque, but they started in 1966, 3 years before Monty Python. So it’s probable more that they still carry that enchanting sensation of a ‘60s attitude where anything goes and you are free to explore, nurture and perform. The creative and comedic blend of this show comes from a development and rehearsal technique that they describe as ‘unanchored by traditional theatrical structure’. It’s a non-hierarchical approach that resists form, they say; ‘each of the shows becomes an expression of whatever and whoever arrives at the rehearsal room on day one of the making process’. Each show also has a different cast. This one stars People Show regulars Mark Long and Emil Wolk, with Bill Palmer. Palmer plays guitar and keyboards, and also created the production’s special effects. Long and Wolk appear in different guises throughout the show, like a couple of mature gentleman with a children’s dressing up box. At times a French maid, a ticket collector, a cheese balancer. The skits flow nicely from one to another; there are black holes, brass instruments and tennis balls that don’t bounce. There is bizarre humour, absurd mime and faded tragedy. I liked the darker themes, they gave the show more depth., like the macabre sensation of the unseen controller at the other end of the phone. There were hints of ageing, futility and loss.

The audience chuckled more than laughed, and the show seemed to grow with the audience reaction. There is a feeling that you ‘sense’ this spectacle as much as experience it, and a mood of rehearsed improvisation is never far away. Theatre is always a mix of lights, sounds, performance, props; and here they are blended nicely into an appealing, funny, charismatic pot pourri show.   ★★★★☆   Adrian Mantle    13^th March 2020