Review: Austentatious

Anyone in town for the Edinburgh Festival this year are in for a real treat; and no, I don't mean wrestling with a bunch of slow-moving dim-witted crowds sort of treat.  Take six funny improvisational comedians with a love for Jane Austen, a few helpful Austenesque title suggestions, and an hour and you have a divinely droll good time.  Austentatious perform every day for free, so there is really no excuse not to go, aside from geological ones!

As mentioned, when you walk in, you're expected to give title suggestions, which will be drawn out of a hat (or basket) for the talented comedians to perform.  This afternoon's selection was, Pride and Pigeons although unfortunately that meant we missed out on other 'clever' suggestions like Midgets and The Pony that Lost its Hat.  The ridiculous plot mixed with the regency language, the players' occasional snafus with names that they came up with on the fly, and the unavoidable sexual innuendos had the audience's stays loosened from laughter.  All in all, the Austenites I attended with all enjoyed themselves, and I think with 18 more shows left, I may just have to go back!

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel is at The Counting House, Edinburgh daily at 1:30 until 26 August.  See the website here.