Review – Porcelain Punch Travelling Medicine Show

THE Porcelain Punch Travelling Medicine Show is a nice concept: a send-up of an old-time travelling caravan that cons people into buying a bottle of Porcelain Punch, a shonky cure-all elixir. A number of circus and cabaret acts are performed to demonstrate the “miraculous” powers of the medicine, which can allegedly make people beautiful, healthy, or gain superhuman strength.

Unfortunately, after fifteen minutes of wink-wink nudge-nudge this-miracle-cure-is-actually-bogus humour, the jokes start to wear a little thin. A show like this – or indeed, a troupe of actual con artists – needs truckloads of charisma to succeed, and the Porcelain Punch team never quite get there. To be fair the script doesn’t give them a lot to work with. There are some nice moments though, particularly with the whirling Miss Shirley Crumple.

While the costumes and set transport the audience back in time, the show’s only nod to modernity is a poor move. Why in a tiny venue like The Spare Room they felt the need to break with the old-time theme and mike up performers with the speaker volume set to 11, I’ll never know. Perhaps they were worried about being drowned out by noisy amusement park machines next to the venue. The quirky co-host of the show Miss Elle May Rose performs some wonderful musical numbers with a mandolin, accordion and her unique voice, but the sheer volume really detracts from the experience.