The Steamers are five comedians who have a passion for the absurd and a great amount of energy in their performance. The show was theatrical in nature, partially improvised and with some audience involvement. Recurring characters gave the show an almost filmic quality, with some characters becoming ongoing vignettes (I particularly liked the two men who worked as restaurant tables and mannequins). Format wise, the show consisted of skits interspersed with video projection. At times it was hard to see what was happening in these video clips because of poor lighting, but I was aware that the group was having technical difficulties.

The Steamers started strongly but tired towards the end of the show, leading them to fall back on gay jokes to get quick laughs. This was unfortunate as the surprising and genuinely funny skits were buried by the jokes that were offensive without being witty or clever.

I felt as though this show could have benefited from more focus and more rehearsal’because of its semi-improvised nature, the skits tended to become sprawling. Keeping them tighter would have made the jokes punchier. This was apparent in the pre-prepared video skits, some of the funnier moments, where the comedians’ work had benefited from the editing process.

I didn’t like this show. I felt that the jokes just went too far for no apparent end. However, the comedians’ energy and passion for their work was apparent and is worth seeing.