The Gilded Balloon
5 - 30 Aug, 22:15 (23:15) 

It's fashionable these days to criticize the slick, professional, big-production Fringe... well, here's a powerful antidote.  It's probably the most unexpected cult success in the history of the Festival.  Believe it or not, it's Punch and Judy - and they haven't even bothered with the puppets.

Yes, this really is what it says on the tin: two socks with ping-pong balls for eyes, voiced falsetto, perform in a miniature theatre in Scotland.  The "costumes" are bad, the props are bad, and the jokes are even worse.  But that's the point, of course; the whole thing's just gloriously silly, and if you're in the right mood for it you'll have an hilarious, knockabout night.

In last year's show, Sock One (the straight sock) shared his aspirations to make it big in the West End, while Sock Two (the funny one) ruined his fellow knitwear's performance by crashing in at every stage.  There was singing, silly voices, and general hijinks; and based on this year's title, we assume we can expect more of the same.

This show divides opinion - there were two-star reviews mixed up among last year's five-star gushers, and we ourselves felt that some of the jokes were laboured for far too long.  But it's unique, it's reasonably priced and it's very Fringe.  All in all, we're signing up to this inexplicable cult... and we think the joy of socks will be with us for many more years to come.