A referendum is coming. Like it or not, know about it or not, care about it or not, in two years’ time Scotland will vote on whether it wants to detach itself from the UK and float northwards towards the ice caps or stay moored to the English mainland. Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister know that this is a big issue for Scots - an issue that, when asked which way they were going to vote, divided the mostly Scottish audience like Moses’ staff did the Red Sea. McTavish and McAllister also think there’s a decent amount of comedy mileage to be had from the issue but there wasn’t much on display.
McTavish and McAllister proclaim they want their show to “start a debate”, and whilst they certainly talk about the referendum they spend surprisingly little time finding comedy in the pros and cons of Scotland’s independence. Apart from one throw away comment at the beginning of the show about still being able to watch Eastenders there is little exploration of the advertised content - there is no in depth discussion on what the effects of the referendum will be and thus one is left feeling entertained, but like you didn’t get the insight you were promised.
For a show that claims to focus on such an important and galvanizing topic the presenting duo tread safe and predictable ground. They compare Margaret Thatcher to the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz. They complain about the cost of Edinburgh’s never-ending tram saga. They point out that Mel Gibson, an Australian, played William Wallace, a Scotsman. The audience waited on bated breath to see if there would be a joke about deep-fried heroin, but alas the comedians stopped themselves, apparently having limits to how far they would push their own national stereotype.
