Itch is a collection of some new work, mainly comedy pieces with a little theatre in the mix, some performers off script and others showing off a snippet of their latest invention. Unfortunately showing off is not the right phrase - letting down seems somewhat more appropriate. The performance consisted of five excerpts of material, none of which fully impressed, resulting in one underwhelmed family walking out mid show.
The idea is a good one, as the audience feels they are getting a sneak peek at a collection of works before they go public, but within the comedy pieces the laughs were lacking and in the theatrical pieces so was the concentration as a number of audience members were close to falling asleep.
The first sketch consisted of a couple where the man was desperate for his wife’s love and affection, something she was unwilling to give. This had potential, but was something we had all seen before. There were some knowing nods and chuckles from the audience but that was the extent of it. Both actors were on script so the piece was obviously very much in the development stages and the actor’s delivery was not to be criticised - it is the writing that needs that little unique twist.
Another piece, in my eyes the best, was of an elderly man ordering a Thai takeaway, constantly checking the variations in price as he goes from special rice, to boiled and finally settling on uncooked rice delivered in the delivery guy’s hands. This character was fully rounded and well portrayed, a welcome end to the very hit and miss performance.
The other sketches were rather nondescript and although the event was casual and laid back some performers seemed as though they did not want to be there, forgetting many people had paid money to see them perform. I lost count of the amount of times I looked at my watch during the show and was somewhat relieved when it finally came to an end. This show doesn’t seem to have much future promise, but maybe one of them will come back to surprise or rather haunt me another day.
