Original Review:

Show Rating:

Bottle and Mango make an instant impact by jumping out of the audience and screaming: "Security alert! Everybody put your hands in the air!"

They're on the lookout for celebrities, proceeding to pick on various crowd members, likening them to C-list stars and 'interview' them. Everyone giggles, partly from embarrassment, as Bottle displays his talent for improvisation. 'Here we have Johnny Morris. Can you do an animal impression for us please Sir?' 'Johnny' obliges. 'What was that? What do you mean, a very poor pig'? A pig in financial difficulty, or a poorly pig? A pig with the, ahem, trots?'

The show continues in this vein, treading the line between funny and plain silly, but begins to fall apart halfway through when the two retreat to the stage and cease to interact with the audience. Their solo sketches are long-winded and overly surreal, proving that Bottle and Mango are at their best when playing off punters. 'Can I have a go on your hair?' Mango asks a middle-aged man with springy curls. 'Can I boing you?'

He then offers, in a French accent worthy of Eurotrash, to paint a 'beautiful picture' of this reviewer, before displaying a hybrid of a monster and pig. Upon realising that I was, in fact, going to review them, they cover their effort in stickers 'by way of apology'.

Overall, the show felt like an extended double-act compereing stint. While 20 minutes of decent prepared material would have been a bonus, the audience left fully warmed up.