Jailtime: An Unlawful Sketch Show is a creative sketch-show coming this week to the ADC late slot. Embedded within the show are some comedy gems, and the range and creativeness of the sketch ideas is pretty remarkable. Audiences should be warned, however, that it is not an early night. With almost 20 sketches, and a 90 minute run time, the show is overstuffed to the detriment of the comedy.

The continuous plot throughout the performance follows D.I. McGrieve (Christian Longstaff), part of his local neighbourhood watch programme. He is - occasionally ably - assisted by his sidekick Margret (Frederick Upton). The show follows the law enforcement team as they track and capture a series of escaped convicts. As Margret helpfully informs us at the end of the performance, the central takeaway message of the show is ‘Crime is Bad’.

“The range and creativeness of the sketch ideas is pretty remarkable”

The theme of the show, ‘criminal activity’, is well chosen and gives the writer and performers a lot of material to work with. Simplistic costumes (the classic orange jumpsuits) and limited props work effectively for the cast to conjure up an impressive variety of sketches. Audiences are treated to the pondering of pirates considering the potential benefits from moving into the emerging field of piracy, an exploration into Robin Hood relationship with his merry men (made complicated by his new rap career with Puss in Boots), and a re-enactment of the biblical story of Kane killing Abel - only he swears he didn’t mean it.

The performers merged a canon of one-time and recurring characters successfully to make a cast of hilarious characters. Through strong accent work and physical comedy, a few performers stood out as particularly talented comics. Jago Wainwright’s diverse range of voices brought each of his characters vividly to life, whilst both Rhys Griffiths and Lizzy Riley wielded a commanding stage presence, making many of their performances hysterical. An additional mention must go to the manic, murderous puppet Smiggles and his human counterpart which are both brilliantly played by Frankie Browne.

The show is fundamentally let down by two elements: technical production and length.. Where sound effects are used and worked effectively, they brought a fantastic comedic effect, as shown in a sketch set inside the recording studio of a true crime podcast. However, more often than not these effects are mistimed or the volume drowned out the performers.

Equally, the length of the production also became an issue. With almost 20 sketches, this piece is a bit of a marathon. As a result, the comedy at times suffers with a handful of sketches relying on the ‘loud and swear-y means funny’ approach. Whilst this show cannot be accused of underusing any performers, it potentially overused their sketch ideas. Almost all the sketch concepts are original, but some of the writing failed to garner much more than a light chuckle from the audience. One cannot help but consider this show would have benefitted from a more condensed format, with each sketch having been more carefully selected.

Overall, Jailtime is full of highly creative pieces effectively together by a coherent theme and recurring characters. The majority of the writing is strong with moments of comedic genius outweighing the handful of dud jokes. However, tech issues and an oversaturation of sketches notably detract from this show. Anyone looking for a late night laugh, the cast of Jailtime will definitely deliver this, just be prepared to strap in for 90 minutes of them!