When Lorna Rose Treen won the best joke of the fringe award two years ago with a cheetah/cheater pun, it “killed comedy” according to the Sun newspaper. (They may see the recent cancellation of that prize as proving their point.) The character comic quotes that unlikely coverage at the start of her new set, a (marginally) more theatrical offering with which she promises to kill off theatre as well. In a show full of one-liners to rival her 2023 prizewinner, the choicest joke may be the idea that this mild-mannered, delightfully silly act poses any kind of mortal threat whatsoever.
Just as her acclaimed debut Skin Pigeon showcased an array of unapologetically weird female characters, so too does 24 Hour Diner People – with the twist that, this time, they’re all to be found in the same, titular location. The first is a waitress given to eating her tips. Just as Skin Pigeon featured a cowboy with guns for hands, we now meet a trucker with impossibly long arms. One recurring sketch airs the libidinous if immature fantasies of a teenage girl as prom approaches. Another, co-starring a press-ganged audience member, introduces us to a wannabe Bonnie and Clyde plotting a heist of the diner’s takings.
