This wholehearted and heartwarming family orientated show, from the creators of Commitment, The Wrestling, and Deep Heat is the classic story of a life-long friendship and quirky fathers told in the classic Max and Ivan fashion. An hour of Max and Ivan talking to the audience about their relationship and what it has gone through, especially during the Christmas period in Covid, as well as how their fathers have affected them. This double act sees Max playing the straight man and Ivan playing the funny man, as per usual, however they both induced hysterical laughter from the crowd.
The ever-changing nature of the show kept it amazingly entertaining and fresh throughout
We got to see how Covid had affected the pair, their relationship on zoom and what they’d been up to over the last few years (including Ivan becoming a father!). All of this was wrapped up in a hilarious stream-lined show, which included a presentation, holidays, fathers, and zoom calls, as well as re-enactments of some of their most important conversations. The ever-changing nature of the show kept it amazingly entertaining and fresh throughout.
Although a first-rate comedy performance, the main theme of this show was fatherhood. The double act perform a truly uplifting and touching tribute to their fathers, admittedly peculiar men, who fall on opposite sides of the graph that Max and Ivan invent. The graph was a main point of the show, and discussed how the double act and their fathers live their lives, placing each of them on opposing ends between ‘risk, safe, passive, and active’. Max and Ivan find that if they can find a balance between the way both their fathers live then maybe they could be great Dad’s as well, which is a surprisingly poignant point in what is otherwise a delightfully funny comedy show.
They finish the show with a huge musical number, which is undoubtedly unexpected, but exceptionally well performed, composed and written. Max & Ivan: Life, Choices is the culmination of every show and experience these two comics have shared and their friendship oozes into the audience for the duration of the entire show.
