Wanted posters surround the venue, a siren blares, and a searchlight swirls over the audience – a police officer (Matthew Edge) walks around asking us if we’ve “seen any crimes,” accusing us of looking guilty. Footlights Presents: WANTED immerses and plays with its audience from the moment we walk through the door.

The show itself begins with a voiceover, which reappears at points, announcing that seven convicts have escaped from a high-security prison – these ‘criminals’ are our cast for tonight, and promptly run on from various stage entrances. The remainder of the show follows them as they enter various wacky scenarios and somehow manage to evade capture through a series of ridiculous plans and disguises.

“The team gets along like a house on fire”

The tone of the show is playful, juvenile fun, where the audience is encouraged to boo and wolf-whistle. It’s obvious that the team gets along like a house on fire, and they want those watching to share in the camaraderie. From the outset, James Allen’s sound design is a particular strength used to great comedic ends. Whilst the volume was occasionally overpowering, which made it difficult to hear some jokes, especially at the start of the show when the police officer is still talking to the audience, the use of sound was generally really impactful – a welcome change for sketch shows, where tech is often under-utilised.

This comes to a head in the ‘Crimewatch’ skit. As one performer mimes the actions of a crime victim while the ‘presenter’ (Archie Allen) recounts the details of the event, the woman is alerted “by a loud knock on the door” which… never comes. Eventually, Allen, playing the role with brilliantly hyperbolic anger, reaches his breaking point and screams to ‘James’ backstage (very meta) that his grandma’s funeral is no excuse for shoddy comedic timing. The successful aspects of this scene were, somewhat unfortunately, interrupted by the woman attacking the thief with a dog toy, something not quite dramatic or ironic enough to get laughs from the audience.

“For each joke that landed, there was one that didn’t hit the mark”

Another highlight was a ‘so-bad-it’s-brilliant’ impersonation of Gollum, in a skit where three suspects were held on suspicion of – surprise, surprise – having stolen a ring. Though the actor did break and laugh, the impersonation was incredibly popular with the audience. Again, though, things were somewhat dinted by the emergence of a fellow suspect – a roller skater in a green sparkly vest who was notably less well-received.

These scenes demonstrate the inconsistent comedic success of WANTED. For each joke that landed, there was one that didn’t hit the mark. Often jokes went on too long, were a bit cliché, or slightly missed the mark. Quips about Keir Starmer policing mean tweets harsher than murder, though enjoyable, were far from brilliant and were drawn out for a long amount of time – and then returned to again and again, exhausting its mileage and then some.

“The tone of the show is playful, juvenile fun”

These detracted from moments when the writing excelled, especially with wordplay and pop culture references. One reference to ‘Chekhov’s gun’ was particularly polished and innovative: the criminals realise that they’re in a play and – oh, no – there’s a gun on stage, so frantic panic ensues. In another skit they disguise themselves as cats and, in a twist ending, get killed by ‘curiosity’. There were also some great topical jibes at Varsity (mandatory for a comedy show, to take a jibe at the reviewer) and some of the ADC’s stricter policies.

A particular, consistent strength of the show was its reliance on cheesy slapstick: overly exaggerated hitting and slapping – even a cartwheel at one point. Director Sophie Petrie’s choreography consistently manages to hit that so-over-the-top-it’s-hilarious mark, often a difficult tone to land. Particularly in the ‘Flash Mob’ skit, the cast nails the cringe offbeat dancing to ‘Think I Want to Marry You’ by Bruno Mars that appears in numerous viral flash-mob proposals online.

In all, I had a fun night out watching WANTED. The show makes for a fun, enjoyable evening. It's a mixed bag, for sure, but we had some good laughs and enjoyed watching the clear camaraderie and friendship between the cast. It’s a good option if you’re looking for a light-hearted night out and a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

‘Footlights Presents: WANTED’ is showing at the ADC Theatre from Wednesday 5 until Saturday 8 February, at 11pm.