Yes - 'Cruel and Unusual Punishment' is back with a witty and entertaining set of sketches: 'Behind the Furniture', fresher than a newly pulled pint, and it's got plenty of bottle too. Written by undergraduates, it's a collection of comic scenes containing poetry, music, and dance, not to mention the talent of the cast to pull them off.

What is most impressive is the silly range of skills the actors and the playwrights display. One moment they are imitating contemporary twenty-something life, and the next a cheesy dance routine from way back in the Seventies. Although many of the actors keep the same characters, they show great ability to metamorphose into highly varied roles - psychopathic detectives, dissolute Manhattanites, Poet Laureates and dodgy priests. Dan Smith (also director) deserves congratulations, not only for co-ordinating a complicated show, but also for delivering consistently good performances in all of his many roles.

Feel-good factor runs high in this show, not just because the cast focus regularly on jerking themselves off[1], but also because the sketches are written entirely by members of the cast. The dialogue is neat and hilarious, but special attention must be given to the poetic abilities of this group. The sketches are punctuated with a series of poems, all of which are amusing, clever and naughty. Phil Hallard[2] is chief poet, and manages to combine his literary talent with an attention-seeking deliverance of his poetry. And if all that weren't enough, the cast sing and dance too. This (unsurprisingly) is carried off with less confidence than the rest, but that only adds to the humour. It is truly a student production, with ample amounts of crude, lewd and plain disgusting references, but with an enthusiastic, novel approach.

It's a pity that this production is not in fifth week - it would offer a great opportunity to blast away those fifth week blues. However, if you want a good laugh now - and not too squeaky-clean a performance - and a lot of it, go and see this frolicksome fest of furious fun!

Notes:
[1] We're not quite sure what this means. Please don't think that BTF contains instances of solitary hand relief, because it doesn't. Sorry if this disappoints you.
[2] In the interests of strict accuracy, poems are actually performed by Colin Batchelor.

'Behind the Furniture' is not where I'd advise the audience to sit for the latest production by Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Instead you are invited to sip a smooth cocktail of slap-stick, stupidity and song. For those of you with a hearty appetite, this production offers 'the Full Monty'.

Director Dan Smith and his inimitable team have put together a superb series of sketches, skillfully written and acted with considerable flair. The action varies from a barber-shop trio to an innuendo-filled edition of Ornithology Today. A demonic doctor feature in this absurd world where chairs and table converse and Sherlock Holmes is called to investigate the murder of Rolf Harris.

'Behind the Furniture' sparkles with energy and originality. It is a formidable combination of sharp comedy, playful pastiche and downright crude humour, certain to tantalise your taste buds and leave you thirsty for more.

-- Rosie McColl & Rosie Gunn

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This is a funny, imaginative, original collection of short episodes, the sort of thing which could work well in the space-restrictive area of Wadham theatre. Director Dan Smith shows a flair for experimentation, never falling for the annoying student thesp trick: the act-or/direct-or who wants to be oh-so-terribly profound and enlighten his contemporaries. Grotesque, occasionally silly, a feast of diversity aimed primarily at comedy-lovers. You won't be disappointed (though you might be confused).