Review by Steve Bennett

There's no doubt about it: Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez are two very talented men. Cartoons in human form, they use their supple bodies and expressive faces to impressive effect, producing a varied cast of surreal characters without the aid of props, costume (save for the pyjamas they perform in), soundtracks or sets.

The laughs come from their goofball physical comedy, as they convincingly pretend to be everything from a human turned into a fly by a magical jack-in-the-box to, ingeniously, a horse's chomping mouth.

Those gnashers belong to Frederick, the murderously schizophrenic horse walking awkwardly on his hind legs. The talking equine so effectively mimicked by Chavez is just one of the zany characters who zip in and out of this fast-paced pantomime, telling a story of sorts.

The bizarre action mostly happens around a haunted hotel, a pretence perhaps too obviously spoofable to be entirely captivating, but convenient enough for a catalogue of childishly funny sketches.

But it does feel a little slight. Once this duo have shown us what they're capable of, which is striking, they need something more substantial than a stuff-and-nonsense horror parody to maintain a whole hour.

They suffer somewhat to playing to tiny audiences in a vast space, denying them the feedback of energy that would help sustain their silliness, although this problem will no doubt be rectified following their recognition as possible best newcomers by the Perrier panel.

But as it is, I'm not convinced this baloney is the perfect vehicle to showcase their amazing gift for physical comedy, leaving Allen and Chavez as talents in need of a format.

Review date: 1 Jan 2004
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett