There is a nice relaxed humour and performance style that resonates throughout this show. Sammy J is a very laid-back comedian and works well against his purple-skinned, puppet flatmate Randy. Heath McIver expertly brings to life Randy (who amusingly is more animated than Sammy). The plot, what there is of it, follows the fall-out between the two friends as Sammy is forced to sue Randy for tax fraud. Hardly ground breaking material, but the story is rather irrelevant. In the end it’s the spiky jibes that the two protagonists throw at each other and the extremely clever and ingenious play on words that provide the laughs. At times, however, the performance comes across as more intellectually amusing than laugh-out-loud funny. A prime example is the board game that the two friends have conducted (a mix of chess and monopoly) that is worth a snigger at least, but is delved into for far too long. The funniest moments for me were the unscripted ones. These two performers are so at ease with each other, the audience and the show in general that their diversions from the actual story are when they get the biggest laughs. The performance I attended had a poor fellow who was returning from the toilet being made to get up on stage and receive a lap dance from both comedians. If Sammy and Randy had tipped the balance between the clever and the funny more towards the latter then this would be a five star show. There are some outstanding moments throughout of course - watch out for a brilliant visual gag in the courtroom. However, as it is, it stands as a very enjoyable, amusing hour that will no doubt contain some excellent unscripted sequences that raise the bar of what’s come before in the actual story.
