How Did It All Go Wrong? is the name of the new show by Trevor Carter (The Bard of Windmill Hill) at the Alma Tavern. It is also a question I asked myself frequently during last night’s performance.

Carter is the poet of the evening. Mark Darkside plays some amusing songs and Amanda Earthwren is a kind of narrator . . . they are the trio behind this strange piece of nonsense.

The show, which was advertised as ‘a poetically driven, musically enhanced comic tragedy’ turned out to be little more than a random, arbitrary selection of Carter’s favourite poems, strung together by misleading narration and a vague gesture towards some kind of plot. Carter – a seasoned storyteller and poet with many impressive credits under his belt – performs a range of characters, from Frankenstein to Jeremy Clarkson.

He is joined in this mini-variety performance by Mark Darkside, songwriter and wit who belongs to a different generation. His camp and saucy medleys satirize numerous targets, from the language in Shakespeare and the lusty Wife of Bath to modern bankers and the internet. He’s about as raunchy as a Carry On film (bless him), his vocabulary brimming with winkies, bloomers and bosoms as he invites the audience to join in with a good old naughty knees-up (cor blimey!) But his songs are genuinely witty and performed boisterously.

In short, an utterly bizarre and bewildering show, which only acts as a vehicle for some faintly amusing poems and songs. Not my cup of tea I’m afraid. ★★☆☆☆ Chris White 4/06/15