Review by Steve Bennett

Boom Chicago's Brendan Hunt and Jordan Peele: a wild-eyed psychopath and a laid-back stoner.

They hosted MTV's Comedy Weekend and now the Edinburgh veterans bring their chemistry and quickness to a hilarious new sketch and improv two-hander.

Oh yeah, Jordan is black

This vibrant duo burst onto the stage with a combination of confidence, chemistry and effervescence that fired up the audience, immediately entering them into the spirit of the show.

But Hunt and Peele quickly lost some of that energy and spirit by asking people to decide who they prefer, black people or white people. A stark and meaningless question, and one which the audience were uncomfortable about answering.

But that's the essence of their show - competitive performances between a black comic and a white one.

It's a bit of a hit-and-miss affair, too, falling slightly short of the twosome's obvious talents.

Highlights included Uta the Danish Eurovision song contest hostess, a very funny dance routine and a improvisation around the grim subject of divorce in the style of Jackie Chan movies and Disney. This was executed in a fantastically visually comic fashion, demonstrating their ability to lark around in the perimeters of a structured show.

But sometimes the pair tried too hard to demonstrate their talent for accents, range and depth in a series of sketches on often stereotypical subjects, such as the Irish drunk and a black man giving freedom to the word nigger.

So, in the end, who was best? The black guy or the white guy?

Does it really matter? They're both pretty good, but more focus on what a paying audience might want and less on self-indulgent dalliances, will make both even better.

Review date: 1 Jan 2002
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett