Like an especially absurd take on The Matrix, complete with rubber gloves being where no rubber globe should ever go, Mind Milk uses the endless possibility of dreams to throw a stream of skits and oddities your way. The award-winning duo The Awkward Silence are back with a show that asks the question of what reality is, before proceeding to laugh about it courtesy of gags about skywriting novels and dinosaurs running restaurants.

The Awkward Silence find imaginative ways to transition between the various sketches. The sparsely decorated stage gives them room to play with the available space while doing this, helping each scene feel more unique than the last. It is a very tightly written production, with no breaks between the sketches that ensure a riotous fluidity to the show. The amount they manage to fit into just one hour of performance is dizzying.

The result is an incredibly funny show, one that depends on recurring gags and yet keeps you on your toes throughout. Wordplay, puns, and just some plain weird situations all manifest in the blink of an eye, brought to life by a pair of utterly unhinged performances. Wearing matching outfits, Ralph Jones and Vyvyan Almond complement each other wonderfully as they both lean into the parts that best suit their skills. Some of their roles will become etched into your brain, finding their way in through a host of catchphrases and memorable inclinations such as a ship captain ready to butcher his crew for the sake of reality television. 

Very strange, very varied, and very funny, Mind Milk offers a respite from the gloomy truth of the world around you. You need to strap in for sixty minutes of scripted sketch comedy that leaves sincerity and polite mannerisms cowering in its wake, allowing unbridled comedic anarchy to rule. Jones and Almond are in fine fettle as they unleash their feverish brand of comedy on the audience, who will lap up their jokes like a plate of concerningly large linguini. 

Mind Milk is at Gilded Balloon Patter House – Coorie until Mon 26 Aug 2024 at 14:20