Reservoir Knobs presented by Punch Monkey Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe.

official Fringe poster designed by Clairemakes.

Punch Monkey Theatre is a new theatre company and Reservoir Knobs is the first show they are premiering this week at theSpace on the mile.

Following the aftermath of a botched supermarket robbery, the hapless criminals gather in a warehouse to confront their dismal haul, a graphic injury and each other.

Blair Young gave a very strong performance as Pig. From the off Young was very funny and had the audience laughing with him immediately. Young also plays into his character's vulnerable side and we see him have a conversation about his child and he reveals why he has gotten involved with the knobs.

Alistair Maxwell plays Walrus and was the voice of reason throughout the course of the performance. Much like Pig his comedic timing was excellent and had the audience laughing straight away. Maxwell’s character arc was well executed. Walrus was closed off at the beginning and very hard to read but by the end of the performance, he opened up about his life and made himself very accessible to the audience.

Stallion was portrayed by Ben Ramsay. Ramsay played the leader of the operation and from the minute he stepped on stage he was intimidating and not one who should be crossed. Ramsay was excellent in this role. Much like the rest of the actors he had brilliant comedic timing. As the story unfolds, we find out that this character is not much of a leader and is scared senseless. We catch glimpses of this in Ramsay’s performance.

Chris McCall was phenomenal as Pingu. McCall had a wonderful presence on stage and great energy. His character was the oddball of the group and McCall really played into the character being daft and coming out with ridiculous one-liners that had the audience in fits of giggles. Pingu has a redemption arc and McCall’s storytelling skills lent themselves to these moments.

The script was written by Ben Ramsay and Ramsay also directed the piece. The script was very strong and filled with plenty of comedic moments but also heartfelt moments. The dialogue was fluid and the pacing of the story was just right. Ramsay’s direction was superb. He did well to create tension and atmosphere in the warehouse and kept us on the edge of our seats to see if the knobs would be caught. I would also commend him on the dynamic of the cast. Each of them bounced off each other very well and that made the performance so enjoyable.

My only criticism of this piece was that sometimes it was difficult to see the action that was happening on stage, as there are times when the cast is on the floor or seated and I missed out on snippets of the performance.

Overall, I would highly recommend going to see this show. Reservoir Knobs is a great time from start to end. It will have you crying with laughter so do not miss your chance to see the Knobs in action. Reservoir Knobs has a hand full of tickets left for the 16th-18th of August.