For a showcase of rising comedy talent, there’s something curiously old-fashioned about this year’s Revue, which starts with the self-styled Renegades parading on stage to a voiceover parodying the 1980s action series The A-Team.

The smorgasbord of skits goes on to mention televisual has-been Anthea Turner, contains a snatch of music from the blockbuster film of 1987, Dirty Dancing, and – astonishingly – even features a musical encounter in which communication by fax machine is key.

Fax machines? Most of the (polite, but rather sparse) audience on the opening night wouldn’t have been old enough to recognise one, though they tittered loudly enough nevertheless – led, infuriatingly, by a braying lass at the back of the auditorium, who guffawed throughout the performance regardless of punchlines, or the lack of them. This is the principal flaw of the show – some of the routines petering out rather than delivering the full whack.

But it’s an entertaining blend of whimsy and slapstick, with plenty to tickle the funny bone of those with a penchant for surrealism, erudite wordplay and daft caricature. Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe as a stroppy adopted teenager strikes a contemporary note, while there is zany fun to be had from a collection of vowels who shun the letter Y; a scene in which a man hears a running commentary, via answerphone, from a friend stuck in a well with a parliament of owls has Eddie Izzard-esque overtones. Although an innuendo-stuffed sketch involving Gardener’s World presenters Monty Don and Rachel de Thame is as blue as a cornflower, most of the content is less smutty than expected.

One or two of the Revue, while talented and confident, appear to be influenced by the mannerisms of established stars such as Rowan Atkinson (a former member of the comedy outfit) and Dawn French, but no doubt will mature their stage personas in the coming months.

The Oxford Revue is at the OFS until Saturday.