This is how it must feel to be a Crufts judge, flicking through pedigree certificates. It’s all here: three-times Edinburgh award nominee; writer on SNL UK; Delightful Sausage member; Harry Hill’s ClubNite alumnus. The parentage is good, too: Tom Parry of Pappy’s directs this very silly shaggy dog story.
If this were a Chris Cantrill line, there’d be a catch. It’d turn meanly on a sixpence for maximum laughs. Indeed, there’s barely a sentence here that hasn’t been worked over and wrung dry. But it isn’t, and the form easily follows the pedigree in this thoroughbred show.
There’s a story here, about community, culture and, implicitly, about the gross pettiness of the culture wars, that’s worn lightly enough that it doesn’t become a straightjacket. Cantrill and his family have moved to a rural village in Northumberland, where he’s able to balance his insider/outsider status until someone (who could it be?) commits a gross crime. Abrupt cuts to recorded content which develop the narrative are handled melodramatically rather than as leaden attempts at real drama. It’s a confident handling that leaves loads of space for Cantrill’s wonky turns of phrase (“I took pause”), daft imagery (who else is talking about panna cotta?) and a top laugh rate.
It’s the end that catches: you need fireworks to cut to black and end it, and this climax reaches too hard for something that isn’t there. Just for a moment, it feels like Cantrill takes himself a bit too seriously.
Chris Cantrill: Rewilding, Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 12.10pm