Reviewblog: Umbrage Swain And The Mystical Diamond of Ramtutiti
Umbrage Swain: Gentleman thief, adventurer, and sporter of great hair. A hero of the 1980's, and star of probably the most loveable show on the fringe this year. 'Umbridge Swain and The Mystical Diamond of Ramtutiti'.
Against a backdrop of Adam Ant and the Alarm our titular hero (James Wren of sketch act Greedy) must battle his black-cloaked nemesis, The Darkness, in a race to find the (also titular) diamond and save the Universe. Or something. To be honest it's not really important, the plot's just a convenient excuse for swashbuckling across the world making the silliest jokes possible, while poking fun at globe trotting adventures flicks. It's unfathomably daft (no crystal skulled aliens though, it's not THAT daft), and all the better for it.
The whole thing ticks along quite nicely on an unending steam of gags ranging from the subtle to the silly, to –well- the very very silly, as our heroes meet Egyptian Princesses, immortal Scotsmen and a guardian fish called Stickelback the Profane, taking in curses, time travel and jokes about The Cure and bumming.
Even the gags though, are almost incidental. The real joy is in a brilliantly constructed world, and a set of characters so haplessly likeable you want to introduce them to your grandparents. Even the rude ones. Nods of approval go to Wren as the bounding adventurer with his name on the poster, and Millie Reeves as his ditzy leading lady, while show stopping cuddles belong to Pro From Dover Richard Glover, as Umbrage's hapless sidekick and Robert Smith dead-ringer Burton; a character so universally huggable he should be replicated and issued to children. It's a pleasure to spend an hour in their company.
Okay it's not edgy, it's not especially clever and it's not a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. But for charm, silliness and a sugary rush of daft fun, you could do a lot worse than joining Umbrage and chums on the adventure of a teatime.

****
Umbrage Swain is at the Underbelly, at 7.30 daily.