He Had Hairy Hands (Lowry, Salford)

Following their 2012 sell-out debut The Boy Who Kicked Pigs, Kill The Beast return to The Lowry as Associate Artists with their first original production, He Had Hairy Hands.

Telling the tale of a small English town under attack from a bloodthirsty werewolf, this is a dark and joyously ridiculous show, perhaps akin to an episode of Scooby Doo meets Midsommer Murders.

Developed from a series of sketches, He Had Hairy Hands is relentlessly fast-paced. The jokes come so thick and fast that it's near impossible to catch them all. There's a strange and satisfying rhythm to the show in the movement, the text, the structure. It's slick and bouncy, almost like one giant set piece.

It's so full throttle that some of the finer details of the whodunnit climax are gone before there is time to register who did what and when, but no matter; if you're not too busy having a good time to care, the gaps are easily filled.

Playing deliciously absurd characters, the performances are as playful as the script. Kill The Beast demonstrate an impressive creativity, showcased best in the infectious and detailed musical numbers and later with a lone piece of string. The energy is boundless, bringing an essential dose of the unexpected to the tale. Filled with surreal twists, the piece is loaded with skewed and sideways glances at character tropes.

It's a riotous show that sees Kill the Beast returning to The Lowry not just as Associate Artists, but judging from the reaction of the audience on the night I attended, as heroes.

Catch them if you can.

He Had Hairy Hands is at the Lowry until 6 June.