‘The world doesn’t need clowns anymore. We’re fax machines. We’re travel agents. We’re obsolete!’ wails Bobo (David Earl) in this unashamedly abrasive comedy which pitches a group of fragile, bad-tempered children’s entertainers into end times. When Ireland suffers widespread electrical blackouts and apocalyptic chaos takes hold, Bobo joins forces with fellow buffoons Pepe (Fionn Foley), The Great Alphonso (Ivan Kaye) and Funzo (Natalie Palamides, stealing the show as a street clown said to have ‘gone scary’). Along for the ride is journalist Jenny (Amy De Bhrún), another pretty desperate character, who is on the scrounge for a scoop.

Director George Kane is known for his work in TV (including Brassic and Inside No 9) and, if he knows how to stage comedy, he doesn’t bring a whole lot of cinematic imagination to the table. Meanwhile, the surfeit of screenwriters (four are listed in the credits, including Kane) might explain a hit and miss nature of the gags, which range from surreal and ingeniously deranged to more obvious and cringeworthy. But the plot itself is inspired and it’s a decently paced, admirably daft adventure featuring a cracking cast, who milk the material for every last ounce of laughter. 

In cinemas now.