critical acclaim for the penny dreadfuls

Here's a round-up of all of the Penny Dreadfuls' reviews for Aeneas Faversham during the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For the full text of each review, click here or through to the original websites.

***** Edinburgh Evening News, Friday 25 August 2006, Martin Lennon

The Penny Dreadfuls team consistently and constantly had the audience in hysterics. ... You'll be in debt to the Victorians for the rest of your life, if you actually get in to see it.

***** British Theatre Guide, August 2006, Rachel Lynn Brody

Aeneas Faversham is one of those magical Fringe treats that sneaks up on you from nowhere only to catapult it into your list of 'top ten Fringe experiences ever.' ...In fact, my only complaint about Aneas Faversham is that it ends.

***** Broadway Baby, August 2006

[C]onstantly surprising and consequently consistently very funny... [A]ll four display an unbelievable array of accents ... and tremendous acting versatility.

***** Three Weeks, August 2006

Rarely is a sketch show laugh-out-loud funny in every single scene, but the Penny Dreadfuls are the definite exception to this widely established rule - with each scene more stupid and more comical than the last. I don’t think I could find a fault in anything that they did.

***** Chortle, August 2006, John Fleming

This is a wonderful scripted and strongly acted selection of cod Victorian melodramatic snatches ... They haven't missed a trick in this enchanting portrait of bad children's entertainers, vampire hunting, 'barren' wives and various evocative slices of Victoriana. ...They are frighteningly professional, and streets ahead of any competitors.

**** The Scotsman, Tuesday 22nd August 2006, Roger Cox

[A]n absolute winner of a show here, and what's more they are all strong enough performers to make their material sparkle. ... Given the state of radio comedy these days - and I'm thinking of Radio 4 in particular here - somebody somewhere should get these guys on the airwaves, pronto.

**** The Skinny, Tuesday 15th August 2006, Michael Duffy

The absurd logic of the Victorian psyche is superbly sourced in this bright sketch show by the players of The Penny Dreadfuls. ... seldom does it not land on the pyre of clever entertainment.

**** One4Review.com, August 2006

These dapper, waist-coated dandy's perform a variety of glimpses into Victoriana [with] characters so wide ranging it would be difficult to catagorise them. ... Well written and beautifully performed.

The Stage, Wednesday 9th August 2006, William McEvoy

Bathos is one of their best tactics, pricking Victorian bombast with a cleverly timed 21st century rejoinder. Some witty parodies of physical theatre add an extra layer to their consistently inventive and off the wall-skits. [A] highly amusing show.