As our tour guides for the dilapidated seaside town of Sudley-on-Sea, comedy duo Max & Iván introduce us to an array of eccentric characters: among them the corrupt local MP (who wants to expand production at the town’s ancient nuclear re-processing plant), struggling children’s author Clive, and Clive’s practical dad.  The dad may be the town’s best remaining hope… for The End is nigh.

Max & Iván‘s trademark combination of sharp gags, cunning word play and physical comedy has been a feature in Buxton for a surprising number of years now, as evidenced by the posters on Underground Venues’ new tenth-anniversary archive wall.  They’ve won the comedy award more than once at Buxton – and, despite being here for one night only early in the Fringe, they still managed to pack one of the biggest venues for another hit.

All the expected elements of a Max and Iván show are present; their multiple characters are each created with a stance, a voice, and an attitude, all instantly recognisable and distinctive.  The puns and twists of language are there as well, as is the dark humour – the bitter put-downs aimed at Clive from his dad eliciting deliciously horrified gasps of laughter. There was uproar, too, at the duo’s frankly downright-dangerous-looking physical comedy. But it seems to me there’s a new extension to their repertoire: the ability to create genuinely touching moments, only to instantly dash them with the blackest humour.

The pair’s consummate ability as performers is best illustrated in their incorporation of “volunteers” from the audience. Often I find this cringe-worthy, because nothing is worse than inadvertently making someone look foolish, but in Max and Iván’s hands the participating audience members are cleverly coaxed into genuinely funny contributions.

For the veteran Fringe-goer there are some nice touches too, as they satirize typical Fringe clichés. I liked Iván’s evocation of a swooping helicopter, and the use of OHP, though it needs a little more work to help it go smoothly. This is a preview for their Edinburgh show of course, so a couple of stumbles are to be expected, and despite the running order taped to the floor it went awry at times. But these guys are good enough to incorporate the moments of chaos – and recalcitrant contact lenses – and make them as funny as anything else.

Since our first opportunity to meet Max and Iván some years back, they’ve gone on to bigger and better things: they’ve been on TV in W1A, and even have their own Radio 4 series. So it’s no surprise as they are a class act, a notch or two above most other comedy at Buxton Fringe. I did laugh out loud, and in the end The End is another excellent show.