Late Night Letters & Numbers

If you've ever watched the ill-fated SBS panel show Letters & Numbers — or the infinitely better Countdown on the UK's Channel 4, from which it stemmed - you'll have probably noticed that among the hard work of rearranging consonants, vowels, small numbers and large numbers (whoa, there!), there's an undercurrent of irreverence that constantly threatens to override the more clinical elements of the show.

Late Night Letters & Numbers threw all of that niceness out the window and, like a rich and freshly gushing oil strike, let the impertinence flow. The panel was hosted by the very quick-witted and affable Nick Caddaye, and his Dictionary Corner compadres Ben and James Stevenson. Begrudgingly assuming the roles of contestants were fellow Fringe performers Nadia Collins and Dilruk Jayasinha - both of whom maintained a crass rapport with the audience while haphazardly attempting to solve complex maths problems and form words with sometimes terrible combinations of letters, and sometimes letters that weren't there at all!

What tied the room together more than The Dude's rug, however, was the encouragement of audience participation. When all on stage were stumped for answers, members of the audience happily obliged and proffered solutions and suggestions that often won them fervent applause. While the original format of the show places a weighty emphasis on intellectual prowess and dexterity, it was clear that there was a metric shit-tonne more fun to be had by engaging with the schoolyard humour and seeing who the first to yell out "I'VE GOT 'COCK' FOR FOUR POINTS!" would be.