Writers: Sam Stafford, Luke Clarence Johnson and Benjamin McMahon
Welcome to the world’s most decorated cooks who also happen to be the most notorious crooks: Chef (Benjamin McMahon), Sous (Luke Clarence Johnson), and their adopted son, Pot Wash (Sam Stafford. This unconventional family spend their lives stealing the finest foodstuff the world has to offer until, on his 18th birthday, Pot Wash decides to leave the family ‘trade’.
Thus, we’re thrown into a high-energy caper that takes us from how this dysfunctional family got together to their very last theft, as they try to steal back a jar of Pot Wash’s semen (yes… semen). On this madcap journey, we’re offered up fights with snakes, first loves, high-stakes blackjack, bending time and space, murder, and even Pot Wash’s first act of self-pleasure (as presented in a form of contemporary dance).
Ready Steady Crooks! is part coming-of-age, part heist, part family saga and part science fiction, all wrapped up in an over-the-top absurdist comedy wrapper. Laughs are front and centre in this show and narrative and logic are shown short shrift to deliver the gags which come thick and fast. The humour is juvenile, but also very smart. There’s smut, but nothing vulgar or rude. There are double-entendres a plenty and, to top it all off, pantomime-inspired physicality.
The show leaves you breathless in its twisting and ludicrous story and its frenetic delivery. The cast is a joy to watch and delivers the mishmash of deadpan, slapstick and absurdist comedy with absolute glee. At the end of the show, the cast is dripping in the sweat of their toil, and the audience experiences every bead of perspiration.
Ready Steady Crooks! covers everything and goes, practically, nowhere. There are more storylines than a Mexican soap opera and, whilst there’s some attempt at a tidy resolution, it doesn’t work to a full resolution. But that’s not the point. This is all about the journey and not the destination. And what a wonderfully bonkers and hilarious journey it is.
Runs until 5 August 2023
Camden Fringe runs until 27 August 2023
The Reviews Hub Score
Python-esque brilliance
