The infectious enthusiasm of this comedy duo is apparent from the off, their chaotic get-in generating a fair few belly-laughs. The show proper – in which two actors reminisce about dodgy Shakespeare productions they’ve been drafted into – is part play, part sketch comedy, with a healthy dose of fourth-wall-breaking interjections thrown in.‘You’re having a shit life because you’re an actor and everyone you know is having a shit life because they’re actors,’ is an early line, setting the scene for an anarchic and irreverent hour. The writing is a pleasing mix of high- and low-brow – one minute they’re riffing on the Bard’s greatest speeches and the next they’re talking about director Tony Bum (a name this reviewer childishly repeated to anyone who’d listen after the show) or the untimely (or timely?) demise of Lembit Opik, due to appear dressed as a bear.There’s much to recommend here – the actors’ energy coupled with some fantastic writing (‘quills not pills’ is the stand-out line from an inspired anti-drugs take on Romeo And Juliet) – but there are moments when the piece becomes flabby and, sad to report, a little boring.But the performers’ joie de vivre and ability to improvise – some of the best moments came when the wheels were falling off the production – make this an extremely promising Free Fringe event. A wee tightening up of the script and some more rehearsals (lines were dropped throughout, although this did lead to some ad lib banter) will see this show fly. And a woman in a bear costume is always funny.
