Loch Ness Monster Hunter

From the creators of Vampire Hospital Waiting Room and GhostCop comes another cult pop culture theatre comedy show that once again gets its audience in hysterics. Back of the Attic have developed quite a following at the fringe - they’re almost the Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright combo of the Edinburgh festival - and this is the third part of their own cornetto trilogy. Unfortunately, like Wright’s cornetto trilogy, this third offering, whilst very funny and highly enjoyable, doesn’t quite come together as well as the group’s previous work. It’s still a blast, but not all the shots fired hit.

Loch Ness Monster Hunter is great fun.

In Loch Ness Monster Hunter, Big Game Hunter and, hilariously, reporter for the ‘prestigious Daily Mail’, Marmaduke Wetherell is on the hunt for the Loch Ness Monster, sighted by the loch’s villagers. Cue plays on cults and dark magic and Scottish folklore and some Indiana Jones quips for our big game hunter who's dressed in the most ridiculously short shorts and carries a rather unfortunately placed whip. There are utterly hilarious moments, and for those well versed in the group’s previous work you’ll enjoy it greatly. But just don’t expect it to be the best they’ve done. Some of the gags fizzle out a little as does the narrative, and some of the recurring jokes and particularly the meta narratives are sometimes stretched a bit too far, losing their comical impact as the show goes on.

There’s a very rough haphazard nature to proceedings which is as much a charm of the performance as it can be a hindrance and has come to be a bit expected of this group. There are moments where this show reaches Blackadder levels of buffoonish humour, which is certainly something to be proud of. The rough edges of the show certainly don’t take away from the sense of fun that this team creates and the audience clearly enjoy themselves, but there are elements that could certainly be tightened up to push these productions into something better.

For the uninitiated, you might be left wondering what all the fuss is about with this group, but for the loyal faithfuls and really anyone who loves a good silly spoof, Loch Ness Monster Hunter is great fun.