After the Edinburgh Fringe, we’re feeling a little reviewed out, so for this one we’re turning to one of our ‘expert freelancers’… my mum, who last came through for us with her review of Julian Clary at the Palladium.

The Prat Pack was something she had been looking forward to, even though she initially mistakenly thought that the four veteran clowns would be doing more of a classic Rat Pack tribute show – rather than the clowns relying more on their tried and tested material.

“But surely Joe Pasquale can’t sing!”

No, Mum. But neither could Joey Bishop…

“Unfortunately, the Edinburgh Playhouse was a bit disappointing. It’s by no means a decorative theatre – it’s huge, but rather bland. Thanks to an usher opening a side door and yelling for anyone with stalls seats, we were actually the first ones in and, more importantly, the first to the bar. (You can see where we get it from!)

We also ordered our drinks for the interval, but that was a disaster because it was so busy that as soon as we had our drinks, we were being yelled at to get back to our seats. Plastic glasses are always disappointing, especially for a crowd of this vintage!

On the night, Bradley Walsh was on good form, although trying to cover Sinatra was perhaps a step too far. It was Brian Conley and Joe Pasquale, though, who really stood out – Brian was very self-deprecating, incredibly funny and pulling out plenty of the old favourites from TV. And Joe broke into an almost Tommy Cooper-style routine that the audience absolutely loved.

I remember seeing Joe Pasquale live in York maybe 30 years ago (yes, she took us) and he has always been funny – incredibly silly, but simply hilarious.

To be honest, I’ve never really been a fan of Shane Richie, and a couple sitting in front of us actually walked out during his jokes, which were probably a little too close to the mark for this particular crowd. But I have to admit, he can sing. He has a much better voice than I expected.

The best way to describe the whole thing would be a wonderful cross between Sunday Night at the Palladium and a Butlin’s talent show. The orchestra was fab, but the really impressive takeaway from the evening was the longstanding friendship between the four of them. Without that friendship, the whole thing could easily feel self-indulgent, but instead it’s what makes the show work. And in the competitive world of show business, that sort of genuine, longstanding friendship must be quite rare.

A very heartfelt ending to a very silly night.“

On the whole, a good night of entertainment, and Mum scored it highly. If you’d like to catch The Prat Pack as it tours the UK, you can find out more details at LW Theatres

Clown Stars: * * * *

@Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh