Pajama Men: Versus vs Versus
Note: This review is from 2008
Review by Steve Bennett
The highly contrived, surreal and pretentious offerings of Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez leave me cold. Some respect must be granted for the huge amount of work that has gone into creating such a highly choreographed sketch show, but the writing is bland and pointless.Running characters range from a teenage girl and her father who are on the run to a pair of medieval knights on a mission to rescue a kidnapped princess. All are overblown and overacted but the physical devices to weave the narratives and sketches together are clever and well-executed. Sadly the script is not so clever and the conclusion where all characters emerge in a bloody climax feels forced, clunky and rushed.
The duo are highly acclaimed and I sense that they are relying on people’s knowledge of their previous work to get them through the hour - which seems shockingly unfair to those who have not seen them before. Several people seemed to be enjoying it much more than I - was this because they have had a gradual introduction to these characters in previous shows, or was their sense of humour so very much removed from my own?
Allen and Chavez possess strong skills in physical comedy but they are not effectively utilised here. Potential in spades but a script only fit for the bucket.
Reviewed by: Corry Shaw
Review date: 1 Jan 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
