Sketch troupe Idiots of Ants interrupt their show after 30 minutes for a half-time analysis with experts in the studio. How well is James playing? What was Elliott's finest moment so far? This funny self-referential device adds structure to an activity – the sketch show – that is notoriously arbitrary. The Ants' work has lacked character in the past: after all, they're another four well-bred chaps doing Radio 4-friendly comedy. But this year's outing is a more persuasive affair, distinguished by slick construction and boldly projected personality.
The secret of its success is its first five minutes. The quartet appear in a second world war scenario, which gradually – and traumatically – breaks down when one of their number realises they're not soldiers, but comedians in a show at the Edinburgh fringe. It's a killer opening: all perfectly pitched, meta-theatrical absurdity, and just the right level of irony. The audience is instantly seduced – and made eagerly receptive to the regulation hit-and-miss sketches that then follow.
A few of these are forgettable, and the Ants often confuse shouting for comedy – as with one scene in which Jerry the cartoon mouse prepares for battle with Tom the cat. The locker-room badinage ("you've got a small penis") can get wearing, too. But in their best sketches, the Ants show how to maximise the yield from a single funny idea.
When two young men are brainwashed into becoming stereotype fathers, the cliches of dad humour are brilliantly identified. And the Urban Swordfighter sketch (in which a PlayStation game comes to life) is wrung for every drop of its humour.
There's room for improvement, as a full-time analysis might have it – but if the boys keep playing this well, they'll be a match for anybody.
