Checkley and Bush’s comic riot is a mixture of over the top comedy sketches and songs. They first appeared on stage as their default stage characters, the cockney duo Checkley and Bush. They opened the show by boisterously jumping about the stage during a parodic rendition of I Predict a Riot - a performance which was more about enthusiasm than technical or vocal prowess. They then began arguing with each other about a pound that Checkley owed to Bush but this came across as just an argument between two friends rather than a joke. From this point they started to lose the audience.
There were elements of audience interaction, including a raffle to play egg and spoon and a grad student choosing a case study from the audience. Though these selected spectators were willing to participate, the atmosphere remained fragmented and there was no collective applause.
The pair played a range of characters during the performance but one that stood out was the impersonation of two middle class friends. Their attempts to mock a tired stereotype felt more like unstructured ramble than a sketch. Their final sketch saw them take up a family involved in a beauty pageant as they forced the six year old daughter to brush up on her looks. Though they once again resorted to an exaggerated and rather tired stereotype they did pull off the American accents well and made effective use of wig and costume changes. Unfortunately, this level of effort was not reflected in the script. The exit saw them perform a parody of Poker Face - the enthusiasm was there but little else.
