Camden Fringe Review: London Wunderground @ Roundhouse Studio

There's a strong tradition of fringe festivals nurturing the stars of tomorrow. A flood of students head for Edinburgh each summer hoping for a bit of Footlights fame. But there is a fine line between end of term skit and performance fit for public consumption and unfortunately, London Wunderground wants to be on one side of that tightrope but ends up on the other.

The cast are all graduates of Bird College's acting programme and there are some very funny parts of this performance. Restaging West Side Story as tramps vs suits in a bite size musical spoof works brilliantly and individuals steal bits of the show with great comic timing or with acts of great conviction.

However, two attempts to get serious using the 7/7 bombings as material sit very uneasily amongst scenes taking the piss out of tourists and foreigners and the least convincing vagrants since the school production of Oliver! Despite best efforts at a physical, imaginative journey through the bombed tube trains and their rescue workers and survivors it feels misguided and out of place. Either major on spoof musicals and skit Eastenders or give all your attention to the terrorist attack - there's plenty of scope with either choice. Just please don't do both.

London Wunderground is at The Roundhouse Studio Theatre tonight and tomorrow at 6pm. All tickets for The Camden Fringe are £7.50.

Read more of our Camden Fringe reviews.