‘A festive TV show live onstage,” promise multimedia double act Mr Thing, and they’re qualified to deliver it: anarchic floorshows, performed as if for telly, have been Tom Clarkson and Owen Visser’s metier since establishing their fringe act eight years ago. Key to its cult status in Edinburgh, one suspects, is a late-night slot and a steady stream of comedian guests. Without either, this Christmas version, while never stinting on the anarchy and bright ideas, feels a bit more exposed.
That may strike you less if you’re one of those audience members (there are a lot of them about these days) for whom the spotlights are as comfy as the stalls. A half of the two-hour running time is taken up by audience participation, MC’d by try-hard Clarkson, as punters take to the stage to showcase random skills, perform the sound effects to an on-screen movie, or play leading man in a series of green-screen adventures. In fairness, I saw the show in a small crowd, which makes participation ickier and the kind of raucous Noel’s House Party jollity Mr Thing seek to invoke, in their primary-coloured suits, more of an effort.
