I had never seen The Grandees before so I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. There was a surreal feeling even before the show started when the box office person tried to tell me the show didn’t exist (I asked for ‘The Grandees: Wrong Side of the door’ instead of just ‘The Wrong Side of the Door’, just a tip for anyone buying tickets).
'The Wrong Side of The Door' consisted of three long sketches acted and written by londoners Marny Godden, Tom Turner and Andrew Mudie. This was a nice change from typical sketch shows which have multiple under developed skits or plays with one story throughout the hour. The storyline of the plays were so well structured that at the end of the first one I actually thought for a minute, ‘wow, that hour went by incredibly fast.’ None of the sketches over stayed their welcome making the show ideal for comedy theatre fans with short attention spans.
The first and final plays were five star quality and also quite sweet. The show starts off with the story of a mustachioed teenage runaway in the American south who gets taken in by a large-bellied man with a dark secret.
The ending has a bit of a horror movie feel to it. It takes place at summer camp where a few misfits end up on some hairy adventures in the lake involving dancing and a boosh-esque log head.
The middle play about conch-collecting ferrets whose boss is a tea bag was not as strong as the other two but Marny’s goofy facial expressions were amazing.
Another notable highlight of the show was the fantastic striptease scene changes from Andy and Tom. This was one of the most creative and watchable ways I’ve seen to fill which could have easily been an awkward transition between plays.
Each member brought their own flavour to the show, there were no weak links. The characters were all well developed and the actor's use of accents was spot on. The show was filled with moments that were so ridiculous you can’t help but laugh.
'Wrong Side of the Door' is a rare fringe show that’s worth a second viewing. It’s highly recommended for anyone who likes men in tights and women in silly moustaches.
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Danica Priest
'Wrong Side of the Door. is on now until the 25th August at the Underbelly, Cowgate at 10.30pm. You can buy tickets HERE
