Back for their third-year in Edinburgh, the Yorkshire sketch duo The Delightful Sausage, comprised of Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill, return with a charming show containing pure creative madness. Shedding the sausage costume for salmon coloured blazers bearing the Ginster’s resort logo, the pair welcome you to their holiday camp. Over the next hour Cantrill and Gledhill present a surreal but well-constructed story, which cements their stature as one of the best acts in Edinburgh.
The story begins as the pink-blazer-clad duo give a few opening remarks and then play a stomach churning video about the different activities available to the audience at the resort. The pair then call up a few audience members to play games, helping to flush out some more of the background of their overall story arc. Throughout the performance, the two play different characters and interact with a disembodied voice to discuss their motivations for working at the camp. Gledhill wants to break away from the comedy duo and start her own stand up comedy, whilst Cantrill wants to keep the group together. This creates some easy Brexit-style humour, but the pair do well to minimise this and it fits in with the overall characters.
In addition to Cantrill and Gledhill, a third actor plays Colonel Whippy. Whippy, a gigantic and monstrous mashed potato-like character, crashes through the audience of the tiny Monkey Barrel 2 room. Without speaking, and with clever use of the costume, Whippy becomes a very animated and hilarious character that seems to either provide joy or mass terror to anyone it encounters. The entrance of Whippy and subsequent appearances were the highlight of the show and, moreover, provide one of the best moments of all of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Through their use of skits, audience interaction, and improvisation the pair create a highly enjoyable hour. Cantrill and Gledhill skilfully navigate through the absurd story line to craft an exceptionally well held together story. They call back everything said during the performance, allowing their clever writing to enhance their natural talents as character actors. This innovative and unconventional show is easily one of the best PWYW Fringe shows, and the pair have developed a unique brand of comedy that grinds together the horrific, grotesque, creativity and surprise into a supremely delightful sausage.