LAST week's General Election and "the resulting political stew has made our job almost too easy", a member of a popular local comedy troupe said last night.

"Without giving anything away, I can say that the problem we have had in the last year was what to leave out," said Chris Broadhurst of Not the Um Um Show. "It wasn't, 'Oh my God, there's not enough material'.

"Our politicians have been giving us so much fodder and ammunition. There have been enough victims over the past few months for us to pick on. It has almost become too easy."

The 15th Not the Um Um Show, which features locally written songs, skits, satire and social commentary, will be staged at the end of September at the Spanish Point Boat Club. It will be performed by Bruce and Fred Barritt, Chris Broadhurst, Peter Smith and Tim Taylor.

"This year, we will not be doing a road show," said Mr. Broadhurst. "Typically, we would do three or four nights at different venues. We used to perform at the Clayhouse Inn, but that is now closed.

"The reason we went to the Spanish Point Boat Club was because of my long association with the Folk Club. I always got along with the Spanish Point Boat Club people.

"We were there last year, and it worked out so well that we decided to do two weekends at the club."

Mr. Broadhurst said this year the show would offer an improvisation portion.

"We decided to do this three shows ago," said Mr. Broadhurst. "For us, it was a real stretch because we'd never done it before.

"We're all fans of the television programme Whose Line Is it Anyway? We've got a little better at it. This year we have a theme that has never been used before and it involves audience participation."

Next year, Not the Um Um Show will celebrate its 20th anniversary and 16th performance (they don't perform every year). The team's sixth member, Sean Dill, who is currently living abroad, has promised to come back for the anniversary performance.

"Next year will be a big production involving, hopefully, some television, and very special guests," he said. "It will be held at the Southampton Princess."

Mr. Broadhurst said this year it is had been hard to finish writing the show because there had been so much happening.

"We write the show in three different sections," he said. "We start off by writing generic stuff. As we get closer to the show we write topical stuff. On the night of the show we write something from that day's newspaper.

"This year we were writing, writing, writing. We had written about 85 per cent of the show, and then an election was called."

The Not the Um Um Show team decided not to meet until after the election.

"We finally met the Saturday after the election to start writing the final 15 per cent of the show," he said. "Then lo and behold, there were more and more twists and turns which make life interesting.

"So we are slated to get together the Tuesday after Cup Match because we figure the next few days will bring a few more surprises."

He said after 15 years, the team had to work hard to keep the quality of the show up.

"If you do a show you have to almost make it funnier next time to be perceived as being at the same level," he said. "Since this is our 15th production, it can be very tough to outdo the previous time.

"We stick to safe humour. We don't feel the need to use profanity. If it isn't funny without using profanity, then it isn't funny.

"But we intend to be as biting as we always were. One thing you can always guarantee about the show is we don't take any political sides. We try and get at everybody equally."

Mr. Broadhurst said his nine-year-old daughter Carly was now considering starting a Not The Um Um Show for kids.

The Not the Um Um Show 2003 will be at the Spanish Point Boat Club on September 18, 19 and 20 and September 25, 26 and 27. Tickets are $25 each and available from the box office at the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society (BMDS) Daylesford Theatre on August 16 and 23 from 10 p.m. until 2 p.m.

For more information go to www.nottheumum.bm