Political Collective Gone Mad

“May you live in interesting times” is a curse in China, but here in Edinburgh it's manna from heaven for satirists.

The past year has presented an array of headline-grabbing stories ripe for irreverent potshots from political standups – particularly since British television has seemingly lost interest in the genre beyond Have I Got News For You.

The Stand has become the natural home for those pricking the pomposity of the powerful and Political Collective Gone Mad is the venue’s latest offering. The collective in question are five comedians seeking to round up the news of the past year in a mixture of standup, characters, video and sketches.

The obvious topics are all in attendance, with the Arab Spring, the royal wedding, the Olympics, the death of Osama Bin Laden and the economic meltdown all in the running – quite literally in one skit.

Impressively, the quintet also cover the England riots shortly after the event, while local topics are given headline space with the ever-increasing lifespan of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and the recent SNP victory in the Scottish Elections.

They seem to be aiming for a Daily Show vibe and are occasionally successful. The problem is that there are too many fluffed lines, while a reliance on reading from scripts—often badly—makes this a chaotic affair.

The characters—in particular an impassioned American priest—are more successful, but there are too many amateurish moments for it to be considered more than mere charming buffoonery.