The role of the reviewer is to save you time by giving you a brief insight into a show, which is why I’ve tackled the important question up front for you; does putting ‘Time’ in front of an occupation title make it better?

First instincts are ‘Of course it does – infinitely’, but after detailed research I’ve worked out that this is a fallacy. Time Lord, Time Cop and, luckily for us, Time Ninja are really all there is (debate is welcome in the comments section). Either way, Time Ninjas is certainly awesome and means festival favourites and local lads Andrew McClelland and Lawrence Leung have cracked off another chunk of fun for audiences this festival.

Leung is now a ‘Name’, with an enviable slot in the ABC’s popular Wednesday night comedy line-up. McClelland, happily for us, is still the same charming, theatrical, sweaty-shirted self. The duo have known each other since Kindergarten, and have a crackling chemistry on stage that allows them to break out of character as they take pot-shots at each other and laugh along with the crowd. Their ‘characters’ aren’t a big step away from their regular comedy roles, which allows for ample improvisation and chaos. Leung described the first big crowd laugh as ‘a wave that rolled right over me’ and Friday night’s show would have suited surfers of all skill levels, with regular easy laughs rolling from left and right.

The show is co-written, but the historical theme and the fact Andrew crowbarred a Radiohead reference into the script suggests he may have gotten his way fairly often in the writing process. No doubt Leung’s commitments to his television show have meant a more hectic lead-up to the festival, but a double-act from these two means we aren’t deprived of him altogether. There aren’t vast wire-assisted fights between never-ending enemies like ninja shows really should have, but the paper cut-out effects make up for it and deftly match the 1990’s references.

Finished reading this article? You might also like:

• PunCast Episode 2 – Andrew McClelland
• PunCast Episode 6 – Lawrence Leung and Andrew McClelland
• Andrew McClelland