If the idea of an online theatrical production brings back unsettling memories of pandemic-era theatre, don’t worry – VOLES’ Seems Sketchy To Me understands how to use the medium to its advantage, and raises money for a good cause.

VOLES (“Vacation Of / Varsity Of / Various Organisations of Light EntertainerS”) is a collaboration between Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society, and their counterparts at Oxford and Sheffield universities. The cross-university group stages radio plays to raise money for charity, this year raising money for Disability Rights UK.

The show’s premise mirrors its medium: a radio show, where the sketches are programmes, adverts, call-ins, and songs. This clever framing device provides an easy transition between sketches and maintains a clear structure throughout – a rarity among sketch shows. The show’s hosts, Max (Teagan Phillips) and Drew (Liam Speak), possess that award-show-host-awkwardness and did sometimes make me cringe, but they are an amusing constant that gives the show cohesion.

“Perhaps this show is best enjoyed like an actual radio show, tuning in and out of the different sketches”

There are some truly inventive sketches with clever twists. The millennial zombies sketch is particularly successful, with Tom Valley’s surprisingly impressive zombie voice and a script jammed full of puns. Elspeth Rogers gives a great portrayal of health-obsessed zombie Eliza-death, embarking on her vegetarian diet: “It’s all about GRAAAAAIINNS, not BRAAAAAIINNS!”. Alison Roary’s guided meditation sketch is another standout; complete with echoing vocal effects and soothing muzak, Roary satirises such classes by making the listener breathe deeply … in 3/4 time. Good timing is a constant feature in the show – the best moments are often intelligent, perfectly timed one-liners that flip a sketch on its head.

However, as with all sketch shows, there were several less than impressive sketches. Some ideas were too obvious, some were too long, and others simply weren’t funny. Notably the parish council sketch simply felt like listening to an actual parish council meeting, full of action points and dry bureaucracy.

Realistically, the show is just too long. An hour and a half is too much sketch comedy for anyone, and is certainly too much radio sketch comedy. The length detracts from the genuinely funny sketches by padding them out with increasingly duller sketches, making the show feel almost endless at times – I certainly needed a break halfway.

The stars of the show are certainly the sound editors. Every backing track throughout the lengthy runtime sets the scene perfectly, from a haunted house’s creaking to sounds of zombies gently mauling people. Vocal effects and room noises are also put to clever use, lending realism to the sketches, while the original music is another nice touch.

Overall, Seems Sketchy To Me is much too long, and there are several moments that are more than a little “sketchy”. However, there is also some truly intelligent comedy that had me laughing out loud. Perhaps this show is best enjoyed like an actual radio show, tuning in and out of the different sketches – as a radio show, it provides some good fun for a very good cause.