Parents Evening promises an hour of character-based sketch comedy in a school setting, which is already an idea devoid of originality, but is handled particularly poorly.Kieran and Natalie play every single role, stepping into the different parts quickly and easily. The show is described as character comedy. Regrettably, while the characters could be described as wacky or surreal they are not well-observed or realistic. A hackneyed New York Jewish couple was especially out of place in the setting and were frankly stereotypical to the point of being offensive. A male dinner-lady came across as particularly flat, as did a recurring American whose personality had apparently been removed, and an increasingly deranged businesswoman. In general, what little comedy there is does not come from the characters themselves; instead the duo reach desperately for surreal humour where none is to be found. Scene changes were covered by a brief burst of Busted’s What I Go To School For, often without warning as the final jokes fell entirely flat.Kieran and Natalie are clearly talented performers and step into a variety of roles with different voices and physicalities with ease. Ultimately, however, the material is well-trod and instead of attempting an original spin on a tired setting they introduce cliché characters that make no sense within it and the feeble appeals to surrealism are not enough to save the show.
