The List
10 August 2009
4 stars

Weird and wonderful game show antics

Like a surreal Vic and Bob bomb colliding with a kids’ TV show, Geordie nonsense-peddler Seymour Mace leaves his crowd uplifted, entertained and laden with charity shop-bought gifts. Packing in group puzzle-solving, ‘horrorscope’ readings, dubious money-saving tips and his insights into vegetable racism, Funshine! is silly but delightfully done. Mace’s show should probably be quite irritating, considering it’s based on non-stop optimism and audience participation, two factors that would make some crowd members want to throw themselves out Stand II’s open windows onto the roadworks below.

But he avoids any cheerleadery cheese by dishing out Northern-flavoured affectionate abuse for his crowd, and shaming those who balls up his home-made games; ‘Name that Spoon’ comes with a truly unimpressive DIY theme song, and his clipboard is fashioned from a cereal box and clothes peg, but the flimsier things get, the funnier they become. There are other places on the Fringe to have your brain cells tickled, or funny bone stimulated with satire; Funshine! is about enjoying something laidback and wearing sticker name-tags saying ‘Gary Werewolf’ and ‘Tony Seabird’. Warm, original and weird.

The Stand II, 558 7272, until 30 Aug (not 17), 1.45pm, £7 (£6).