'Success' is an inventive, endearing and beautifully observed pastiche of self-help seminars. A cheerful lecture with the slightest frisson of tension quickly descends into finger-pointing, one-upmanship, the slaking of latent homoerotic and sadistic desires, resignation and ultimate reconciliation. Our three Mr Motivators are Joe, Joe and Kieran, three very different ex-Oxford Revue members whose styles and rhythms dovetail brilliantly: Joe Parham, the moral compass whose deadpan delivery is reinforced by a voice so exquisitely gravelly it could have been hewn by druids; Joe Markham, a seething, blinkered, ursine maniac who barks orders from the back of the stage and looms over the other two throughout, both physically and psychologically; and Kieran, the simple-minded outsider manipulated by both to embarrass the other.There are some lovely comic set-pieces here. The episodic structure of the show, with a new theme or lesson introduced every five minutes or so, allows Kieran and the Joes to experiment with a vast palette of comedic shades and genres, from the gross-out chocolate-licking to the high surrealism of the pigeon job application. I personally preferred the more understated moments (the Community Chess and the Crystal Maze riff are particularly clever), and I also preferred the moments of subtle tension near the start between the two Joes over their gung-ho verbal warfare. The Joes' attempts to sabotage each other's roleplays reminded me of the training day episode of 'The Office' ('There is no 362 in this hotel' etc) and Parham's pauses and body language are particularly Gervaisian at times. No bad thing necessarily, just something to be careful of overdoing.I loved this. It is still quite raw and the first half is, perhaps, more controlled and intelligent than the second, but 'Success' is an excellently written, deftly performed and remarkably varied hour of comedy. And it's free! I have a feeling this trio, and fellow writer-producer Tom Meltzer, have extremely bright futures. Very highly recommended.
