Although the name might imply a show about nymphs, the Bristol Revunions simply used their nymph characters to introduce an hour of fun filled sketches by asking, could this be the year of the Nymphs? Previously ignored by Tolkien and J K Rowling, these four nymphs came to Edinburgh to grab a slice of the action that the dwarfs and elves had been getting so much of.
This delightful group of comedians took the audience swiftly in and out of sketches with ease. Their simple set and costumes meant they used only their comic wit and timing to get the audience roaring with laughter. Ollie Jones-Evans stood out as the leader of the pack due to his hilarious voices, his stand out ability to switch seamlessly from one character to the next and his absolutely hysterical physicality. He had the audience in the palm of his hand from the very beginning with his recorded monologue and carried through with a consistently funny and engaging performance. He was the absolute highlight of the show and to their credit the troupe as a whole was clearly aware of his talents, making full use of them throughout.
Although they took a little longer to warm up, the other three performers all showed off their unique talents. Hugh Stanley and Anna Harris were wonderful with their references to children’s shows, which had all of us 90s kids in stiches. Rajiv Karia was a little shaky at the start but he picked up quickly, and was soon entertaining the audience with his more thoughtful expressions and less physical style.
Although some sketches had the audience cracking up, some moments fell flat. Clearly, some scenes were significantly stronger than others. They could have cut some of the shorter ones that even they knew weren’t working and extended the sketches that had the audience howling. The performance did lull a little in the middle but the energy was kept mostly high throughout, which made up for their inconsistencies.
The nymphs provided a fun filled hour that was bursting with energy, wit and genius comic timing. Despite some issues, what really came across was the fact that these nymphs were having fun on stage and that the audience was more than happy to share the good times with them.
