★★★★

The Power of Three. A great analogy for Sheep Soup’s act or just a really funny song with three hilarious characters? This hour was packed with fun and chaos, divided into well-written mini sketches and musical comedy. The Invention of Acting explored the subtleties between the real, the unreal and the surreal. The members of the group delighted in fooling each other and dealing in the make-believe.

Other standout characters included some monkeys with great singing voices and some modern parents with high expectations.

When not in character, they were Ben Welch, Zara White and Laurence Cole, who had all trained at Bafta Award-winning organisation The Television Workshop in Nottingham. Welch is company manager of Sheep Soup, who have had enjoyed previous success with the musical Mrs Green. They took this new sketch show, The Invention of Acting, on a UK tour to see if they could find pockets of laughter in far-flung places. The friendly Marlborough gave them a fair quotient of laughter before they take the show to Edinburgh Fringe. No doubt there will be more laughs to come.