The Return of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre ***** (and a half)

For the uninitiated, The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre is, as the name would imply, a one-man comedy show with the performer hidden behind a Punch & Judy style booth whilst he acts out a routine using socks with googly eyes stuck on them with both his hands. In a falsetto voice.

I saw this last year and loved it, although I thought part of that may be the novelty. I can happily confirm that this stands well to a repeat viewing, especially as all the material is new. Taking the conceit that they are trying to impress TV execs in the audience, the socks spend an intentionally shambolic and hilarious hour ripping through sketches and routines both scripted and improvised.

It opens with the theme tune ("I'm a sock, I'm a sock, you wear me on your feet not on your cock") and finishes with an extremely funny version of King Lear (featuring the three daughters, Gonorrhea, Ronald Regan and Cordelia Smith...). In between, we are treated to everything from their Christmas special ("and an iPhone not in a pear tree") to a special guest appearance from Kraftwerk...

Inspired lunacy, then, and what is impressive is that after a couple of minutes, you are totally bought into the idea that these socks have a life of their own - and it's only when the performer gets up from behind the stage at the end of the show that you remember this fast-paced and hilarious mayhem is all the work of one man - a man who has spent the last hour performing a double-act with himself in a high-pitched voice.

They were the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets. And so was him. And so was he.