The Penny Dreadfuls Present...The Never Man

After four years of touring their Victoriana sketch comedy, earning more than 30 five star reviews and a four-part BBC radio series, The Penny Dreafuls are back with a brand new show attempting to break the mould.

They have picked the genre of the Hollywood thriller, although the protagonist is a northern English version of a renegade policeman trying to solve the mystery of Dr Lovable's Beef Island theme park on the special occasion of a banquet for a group of competition winners.

So, this may not be the perfect occasion to acquaint oneself with the phenomenon that The Penny Dreadfuls have become, as not a lot of their original trademark material remains. However, the core of their skill set is still there – the kind of goofiness, eccentricity and chemistry that has the flashes of the young Pythons and the sound of Rowan Atkinson from his Blackadder days.

Not that Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck have any need for brand new fans. Hardly has the show got off the ground than the house roars with the laughter borne of long-standing familiarity. And funnily enough, it's mostly all boys with or without girlfriends in tow. Just like the Victorian 'penny dreadfuls' then.