Croft and Pearce call themselves two very similar friends who also ‘look very similar’, but you could have fooled me after I watched their show. The two take on such a wide variety of characters it becomes difficult to see them as they are – two slight, brunette women with a gift for comedy. Well-deserved laughs came thick and fast throughout their hour.
With minimal costumes and props, their show brings a mix of eclectic but startlingly plausible characters to the fore, from a technician with a passion for grammar to a pair of WI Jennifer Archer-types who have lost the will to live. While one or two characters rely on slightly stereotyped characterisation – I’m looking at you, Daffyd – the majority of the time Croft and Pearce use very subtle physical and vocal shifts to bring their weird and wonderful creations to life. Their commitment is absolute and deeply funny. There are just enough recurring characters to give a sense of progression to the sketch show, without turning it into a straight narrative – though I was mildly disappointed not to see the conclusion to the relationship of a particular pairing.
The two have developed a series of moments of audience interaction that produce guffaws of laughter, particularly from the people who are picked on. It’s not so much the breaking of the fourth wall – this is fringe, after all – but when they ask auditors to break it back that proves key to making it different and better. Just as with the well-weaved narratives of the sketches, the effort they put into going a cut above the obvious joke really pays off. Hardworking and hilarious, this pair has earned your complete attention.
