Cloaked LA clowns turn Edinburgh audience into ritual participants in 'Underground Monk Show'

A group of four Los Angeles-based comedians performing as hooded, robe-clad monks has brought its show "Underground Monk Show" to the Edinburgh festival, where it has been nominated for the award for best comedy newcomer.

The performers — D Marcucci, John Norris, Claire Woolner and Max Baumgarten — portray characters who seem to be experiencing their bodies and voices for the very first time. One sequence depicts a symbolic birth, with the other performers holding an umbilical cord as the "newborn" greets the crowd with a playful phrase.

Co-directed by Norris and Corey Podell, the show has the monks moving nervously among audience members, clutching each other and a bowl of water. In one moment, an item resembling a lanyard is taken from an audience member and symbolically discarded with dramatic flair. The performers appear governed by a half-remembered secret code, and their ritual with the bowl eventually turns into a game of rock, paper, scissors accompanied by playful lighting effects.

As a chime repeatedly sounds throughout the performance, the show builds into a strange, layered exploration of connection, alienation and the limits of language, conveyed largely through skilled physical movement. The reviewer notes an initial wariness toward the piece's apparent self-indulgence, which gave way to appreciation as the show progressed.

Distinct set pieces include a slow dance with an audience member set to an Adele song and a movement sequence recalling choreographer Bob Fosse's style. A recurring gag involves the performers repeatedly attempting — and failing to fully master — a trust fall.

"Underground Monk Show" runs at Assembly George Square Gardens in Edinburgh until 30 August, before transferring to Soho theatre in London from 11 to 23 January.