Every year, the Footlights Presents show gives an opportunity for up-and-coming names on the Cambridge comedy scene to showcase their talents on the ADC stage. The comedians involved tend to go on to do exciting things, both inside and outside of Cambridge. This year, the set-up is simple: the ‘Pen Pals’ are the performers, and throughout the show they each write a letter, framing the sketches nicely and neatly with monologues. There’s a boy on a desert island, a small child writing to the monster under his bed, a woman writing to her potential Spanish lover, a man stuck in the Arctic, and an alien. When you first sit down, it all seems very simple, but that is far from the case.

Emmeline Downie, Bella Hull, Leo Reich, Will Bicknell-Found and Noah Geelan burst onto the stage in a sketch show like no other. They begin with a song that sets the tone for the rest of the evening – this is going to be a night of energy, excitement, and most importantly, laughter. The show is wildly diverse, with a unique combination of songs, punchy shorts, multi-media sketches, and monologues, each containing puns, whimsy, misdirection or absurdity which will delight every audience member: there’s literally something for everyone. The performers are clearly individuals, with their own signature brands of comedy, and the framing device is a clever way for each of them to demonstrate their personal skills and styles. These are clearly talented and experienced performers - their energy is infectious and their content is impressively written and consistently funny. This show has always been for ‘the ones to watch’, and this year’s group have proved themselves to be just as witty, talented, and charismatic as their predecessors.

Stand-out moments included Leo Reich and Will Bicknell-Found’s monologues, two hilarious cleaners, and a song about one-night stands. The show also featured a really well-crafted piece of audience participation which, thanks to Downie and Reich, is thoroughly enjoyable, and one of the few times where the houselights have come up and the audience haven’t groaned and tried to hide behind their seats. These performers deftly weave their way in and out of sketches, improvising where necessary and clearly enjoying themselves. It’s not hard to believe they’re friends in real life too; their rapport is unmistakable and it is always such a delight to see such a positive dynamic on stage.

The integration of the band within the show is especially impressive. Too often, sketch shows featuring live music leave their musicians to one side and barely acknowledge their presence. However, the Pen Pals team have bucked the trend by seamlessly including Laurence T-Stannard on keys and Finlay Stafford on percussion, bringing them into sketches to make the most of their musical talents, and draw out every possible moment of comedy. The accompaniment was sometimes just as funny as the sketch content, and the songs that are scattered throughout are both impressively written, and well-performed.

There were a few falters though, with a couple of sketches dragging on a little too long, and not really knowing when it was time to end. What was lacking was usually another big joke to round off and complete these longer sketches, but that is just the proverbial cherry on top of the cake, as the content up to that point was solidly written and delivered.

Overall, the framing device is an enjoyable concept, and the production team have done an excellent job of executing it. It is shame that the performers had such little space to work with given amount of stage available to them, but they didn’t let that stop them and made the most of a difficult set-up. Given the unusual stage, as well as the complexity of the sound, light, and projection needs, the production team have done a fantastic job bringing this show to the stage. Laura Wells, Lewis Brierly, and Stanley Thomas deserve special mentions and, thanks to the latter, the Footlights were bright - quite literally, perhaps foreshadowing the future of many, if not all, of these performers.

Footlights Presents: Pen Pals is on at the ADC Theatre at 11pm until 3 February