Oram and Meeten: Ding Dong

Note: This review is from 2014

Review by Steve Bennett

Mixing Reeves and Mortimer-style insanity with the best sketch show traditions, this likeable double act prove they have flair and talent with this entertaining show.

Steve (Oram) and Tom (Meeten) have always been accomplished performers, and now they are getting increasingly assured with their fun, surreal writing, too. They will undoubtedly be stars - though perhaps just not quite yet.

From the moment they gallop onstage on their imaginary horses to the moment they end with a downbeat conclusion, featuring a man half-wearing a dress, another dressed as Death and another with a baguette strapped to his arm (yes, like Princess Di's marriage, this double act sometimes has three people in it), they always keep the audience amused and interested.

It's a necessary talent, as some of their weirder ideas are more funny peculiar than funny ha-ha, but they keep you on-side, so you don't begrudge them their small indulgences.

Their best sketches, such as the performance of a song about dingos that is as disturbing as it is hilarious, are prime examples of inspired lunacy. Though, as usual for sketch shows, these are offset by an equal number of skits that don't quite come off.

Oram and Meeten's strike rate is better than most, though, and they perform with a winning verve that makes the most out of their material. Promising stuff, indeed.

Review date: 1 Jan 2014
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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