This one's a toughie. Georgia Hurt and Laura Anderson are probably two of the most likeable comedians you'll see at the Fringe this year and it's clear from their regular corpsing that they have a whale of a time together on stage. Their show, Hurt and Anderson: Scenes of a Vignette-ish Nature, definitely has its moments, particularly during some early sketches on the potential for confusion between a vignette and vinaigrette and the perils of reading glamour magazines, both of which stray into surprisingly high concept territory.
However, much as I'd like to, I can't pretend that this is a great show. Scenes of a Vignette-ish nature suffers from an undeniable loss of momentum as it approaches its second half. It's not that one catastrophic sketch – sorry, vignette – sinks the show or that Hurt and Anderson are ever painfully unfunny, but there comes a point when their early sparks fizzle out and the duo have to get by on the crowd's goodwill alone. That goodwill is stretched almost to breaking point by some late in the day audience interaction during which one poor soul is called upon to provide a Polish accent and another is presented with a monologue so long that no unprepared punter could possibly get through it unscathed.
Hurt and Anderson have some good ideas, but none of the consistency or polish to capitalise on their sheer amicability. You’ll wish you could have a drink with them rather than watch them perform.
