How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

“Stick to one-star shows to avoid mass panic” is one of the tips offered by Dr Dale, the host of this survival seminar, presumably conscious of the fact that he and his castmates don't really have a show at all.

It is listed under comedy but they've neglected to prepare any jokes; they seem to expect a barrage of questions from the audience to inspire the bulk of the material but tend to panic when required to improvise.

Dr Dale himself is a confident performer, but when he hands over to any of his assistants – a survival expert, a weapons expert, a science expert and a bullied counsellor named Malcolm – any momentum he has manage to build is instantly lost.

It would have been easy to at least throw in a few cheap scares. When performers disappear for no good reason and later when everyone is asked to close their eyes it feels like the apocalypse must be imminent, but all that follows is more patchy advice, punctuated with awkward pauses.

What's most disappointing is that the cast don't even seem particularly enthusiastic about their own subject matter, and break the spell completely by acknowledging that their collective expertise is the result of watching films.