Gaffer tape has been used in many sound constructions over the years, but few sturdier than this: a comedy act that after only two years has the world apparently at its feet. Sam Wills's silent comedy character has graduated to the big league on this year's fringe, packing out the 700-seat Pleasance Courtyard with a show that has mainstream hit written all over it. It's no funnier than his 2010 debut. But Wills has devised an equally pleasing array of interactive stunts and visual punchlines, and proves resoundingly that they work on a large scale.
As before, the pleasure derives from watching Wills, duct tape across mouth, leading his audience participants in all sorts of unlikely activity. Wills flashes his eyes, scowls and furrows his brow – and slowly, his stooges cotton on that they're meant to bash this pingpong ball into that dustpan, or brandish this extended tape measure like a lightsabre. The balance has tilted slightly towards these Adam Riches-style batty interactive challenges. But there remain plenty of routines whose penny-drop punchline is supplied – as in his previous show – by 80s and 90s hits, as when Bon Jovi's "shot through the heart" lyric from You Give Love a Bad Name soundtracks a staplegun fight between Wills and a punter adorned with balloons.
Some of the lower-key solo moments (two crooning oven gloves, a ropey Rubik's cube gag) are disposable. And the grand finale would look more spectacular if the crowd stayed seated. But Wills's remarkable touch with the audience yields big laughs here; their confidence expands to fill the space left by his wordlessness. There's also a streak of subversion to the Boy (distributing beer to a child in the front row) that keeps all this communal good cheer the right side of cloying. The West End surely beckons: Wills's silence is looking increasingly golden.
