Review of the comedy show that comes with five free drinks

Pub quiz in name only, this long-running tour is the latest way for booze experts Tom Sandham and Ben McFarland to package their alcohol tastings in a fun way.

They aim to inform as well as entertain, giving a fairly serious lowdown on the five drinks handed out to every punter, amid the much quirkier, funnier tidbits of trivia that dominate. But it’s all cheese and no wine when it comes to the banter and sketches that from the comedy base of the show.

Corny puns, unabashed double entendres – some delivered while in the guise of trolly-dolly air hostesses that wouldn’t be out of place in a 1970s sitcom – are on all on their menu.

Not that Sandham and McFarland are under any illusions about the quality of their material, but they embrace the cheapness of it all with the sort of knowingness that fans of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue will recognise. The audience, perhaps lubricated by the five free drinks included in the ticket price, reward wordplay with a cheery ‘way-hay!’, an appreciative groan or even a good-natured ‘boo’ if it’s especially contrived – everyone joining in the pantomime-style shenanigans.

The duo’s jokes are unlikely to win any awards, but they are all delivered with the infectious sense of fun and bonhomie you’d hope from good night at the pub. It’s a welcome antidote to the pretentiousness that can surround wine buffs, real ale fans and spirts snobs.

No one’s revelling it more than the performers themselves. The performances are a bit sloppy – McFarland is especially prone to tripping over lines. Although that’s probably an occupational hazard when joining the audience in the sampling. As is the fact the audience can get chatty as they discuss each drink, or figure out the mechanics of the tasting and quizzing.

Tonight we get a traditionally brewed German lager, a deliciously citrusy tonic water, a fragrant gin, a Venezuelan sipping rum, and a potent bourbon from the oldest such distiller in the US. That’s value for money, as there’s little need to visit the bar, especially if you’re following the pair’s mantra of ‘drink less, drink better’.

What about that pub quiz? Well, we all fill in our answers after each section, each one coming from the information they have just imparted. There are no teams, no answers at the end and the winner is chosen entirely at random after the show, regardless of how well they’ve done. The cynical may suggest this device is all just a brazen attempt to capture email addresses for their monthly drinks club and podcast mailing list. But that’s surely only the drink talking. Hic!

• The Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz tour dates

Review date: 13 Feb 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Leicester Square Theatre