In their Fringe debut comedy hour Sisters hit the ground running with a fast paced, intensely dark and gut bustingly funny show of sketches, skits, and more jokes about live streaming than you thought were possible. As our dysfunctional duo take us on a modern day odyssey through awkward family dinners, first dates, and the never ending quest to fund a Fringe show kickstarter.
A resounding success in bringing sharp, if slightly dark and twisted, humour to festival audiences.
Sisters: White Noise is a sketch show that takes many risks, with frequent use of jokes based on sound and light cues, instances of audience interactions and that bane of festival comedians everywhere, projection and live video. Each could spell doom or at least a ruined sketch. Here, however, there is no fear to be had as both performers deftly navigate these potential pitfalls and turn them into hysterical gags. The show’s use of multimedia is one of its greatest strengths, as many sketches seamlessly integrate live video with the performers who demonstrate incredible skill in not missing a beat when working with pre-recorded videos that often run the risk of appearing messy or under rehearsed. Indeed, they produce some of the show’s funniest moments. At the risk of giving too much away, the opening video, for example, is a pitch perfect use of pre-recorded material to play on the audience’s expectations and set the tone of the show.
None of these technical elements, though, act as props or gimmicks to hold up an otherwise mediocre or weak show. Both the writing and performances themselves are well paced and impeccably delivered to have the audience roaring with laughter.
The show does, on occasion, rely too much on ‘shock’ humour and excessive profanity that cheapen the witty punchlines, which is unfortunate given the clear intelligence seen throughout. But the show is a resounding success in bringing sharp, if slightly dark and twisted, humour to festival audiences. Sisters is a show to be recommended for sketch comedy aficionados this August.
