The fact that all performances for this show are sold out (except an additional matinee introduced precisely for this reason) makes this review’s role in influencing decisions trivial. The question then becomes, will you be watching the Spring revue this year, or the next?

"If you’re the kind of person who enjoys it when comics make the audience a part of the act, then you’re in for a treat"

There’s something for everyone in this sketch show. The usual sketchy-buddy comedy from Mark and Haydn, Luisa and Ruby's absurdist humour is a bit more toned down for this show and admittedly, not the strongest, but still there in the background, radiating heat. There is refreshing political satire and it is gut-wrenchingly funny - very much like the current political atmosphere it parodies. For lovers of the supernatural, vampires also find a home behind some of the closed doors of the revue. And speaking of the supernatural, Dillon Mapletoft comes on for the fewest sketches, but steals the show with an absurdist part-stand-up, part-sketch, all weird routine, as a highly eccentric and highly accented 'artist.'

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys it when comics make the audience a part of the act, then you’re in for a treat. While opening night arguably had a bit too much of that happen, when an audience member’s beer was borrowed, spilt on stage and then replaced, it wasn’t really too much. It was spontaneous and hilarious, and I hope something like this happens every show, because it just makes the evening that much more memorable. The cast are acutely aware of the kind of comedy style each of them is prone to adopt, and when one sketch is weaker than usual, it is ridiculed as such and becomes part of an internal self-referencing joke, which is many a time funnier than the original.

Amongst what was mostly comedy gold, there were still some sketches punctuating the revue which weren’t particularly funny and some which I knew could have been funny, but were just hindered by their delivery. But these are few and far between, and don't do much to dampen the evening.

"The Footlights committee have set their own standard for good comedy, and they manage to, if not surpass, at least reach the same levels that have come to be expected of them"

The drummer, Oliver Vibrans, who is hidden behind a door throughout, does a wonderful job of filling the space between sketches with just the right amount of music that avoids the awkwardness of transitions between scenes, but doesn’t interfere with the flow of the routine. The eleven doors - and they had to stretch it by using the stage’s trap door to get their required number - serve their purpose, and are a handy way to provide more entries and exits to the performers.

Organised fun, seriously sketchy.

The Footlights committee have set their own standard for good comedy, and they manage to, if not surpass, at least reach the same levels that have come to be expected of them. The Footlights Spring Revue comes as a saviour during the dreaded Week 5 of the term and will leave you with a smile