Bishops: Farewell Bruce Porcelain

Review by David Cox

Having been brought up on classic Fringe sketch groups like The Penny Dreadfuls, Idiots Of Ants, Pappy's and The Beta Males we have been looking for quite a while for their modern equivalent. And last year I thought I Might have found them.

I was a bit nervous about returning and bringing other DarkChatters to see Bishops, but it didn't take long before I could relax as I knew I was right. Unlike last year's show which was a collection of random sketches there was a specific theme this year. Using the concept of being Bishops (spoiler, they aren't) the audience were honoured to be present at the memorial service for the great Bruce Porcelain. This is obviously a vehicle to show off the talents of Chris Curran and Noah Matthews and it works very well.

Like all sketch shows not everything works and some elements overstay their welcome, but certain aspects are extremely funny making the audience roar with laughter.

What I like about Bishops is the fact that the performers share their time in the spotlight and have an equal amount of funny lines. There are some excellent set-pieces , a lot of silliness and a lovely weird unexplained moment.

They aren't yet the finished, polished article but I hope to enjoy following their progress over the next few years.

If you fancy spending an hour in the company of two likeable funny guys head to Underbelly and pay your respects to the much missed Bruce Porcelain.