In
This is a clever, refreshing, Free Fringe show from an exciting act
To be innovative in a format that has produced the likes of Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies, through to Reeves and Mortimer and Mitchell and Webb, you’re going to have to bring something fresh to the table. Hurt and Anderson do this, introducing a female perspective to a genre that has been traditionally dominated by all-male acts.
That’s not to say that Hurt and Anderson are complete iconoclasts. Distinguished with conveniently labeled t-shirts, their onstage relationship will be familiar to anyone with a passing familiarity with comedy-duo dynamics. Hart is the straight one, her comic-timing and understated delivery a foil for Anderson’s performance. Anderson is the ‘stooge’ or ‘fall guy’ - a lot of the gags are at her expense and her characters’ expense. She is, in turn, oblivious, shouty, and ridiculous, and does an eerily realistic impression of a drunk Tynesider. Their rapport, withstanding the standard of the writing, is in itself a pleasure to watch.
The show has a real flow to it, with each skit suggesting the next, while the performance in its entirety is nicely knitted together with some well worked call-backs. On top of that, it is punctuated with various speed-dating encounters, showing off the duo’s ability to write one-liners. There’s also a handful of comedy songs, that old staple of double-acts, that keep the laughs coming.
There are shows a lot worse than this that are charging a lot more on the door than they warrant. This is a clever, refreshing, Free Fringe show from an exciting act – definitely worth a return visit.
