The performing arts are undergoing a shift in inspiration towards the early Twentieth Century: Cabaret is on the up, Burlesque is increasingly acceptable, and in Comedy it is the music-hall which is making its influence known. Nowhere is this more apparent than with comedy double-act Bob and Jim. With their blazers, ties and brown trilbies, these two overgrown schoolboys do a very nice line in charmingly vintage comedy, replete with slick patter and ceaseless innuendo. This is not to say, however, that they belong to another era: their penchant for performing the hits of Lady Gaga on the electric ukulele should speak for itself.Their material has never even set eyes on the borders of bad taste, and they are a model of the sort of controlled, winning and inclusive audience interaction which is so refreshing at a festival full of aggression and alienation. Even when they give themselves license to be abrasive, as their evil counterparts attempting to ruin Bob and Jim’s gig, they seem almost incapable of going so far as to threaten the store of goodwill which they gather continually from the first ‘‘ello’ of the night. So as not to seem in any way backhanded, I should mention that they are also pretty funny as well. Their jokes are often cleverly written and always get a laugh, and their comic timing is great. At times their audience participation slows to a standstill because someone simply cannot speak for laughter.Their style is broken up into a series of distinct sections with snappy patter to cover the seams. This lends itself well to compering and to short slots alongside stand-ups and more conventional sketch groups. The question was, could they cover an hour?In the end, I must admit, the material does wear a little thin after a full sixty minutes. The innuendo is continual, and some of it starts to seem a tad repetitive. There are certain sections which appear almost to have been included to make up time, which do not really reach the same level as the rest of the show. They do not, however, show any signs of losing their own energy, and they do not allow their audience to leave on a low. After all, who could feel flat after a round of the famous game-show ‘Stroke it Gently’? Whatever they may lose over the hour, they make right back up at the end.If you’re tired of the roughness of the Fringe, or if you just want a good, guilt-free, companionable laugh, Bob and Jim are definitely worth watching.
