Original Review:

Show Rating:

Their main trick is to pompously announce their next piece, which more often than not turns out to be an elegant and nimble piece of physical comedy, deftly performed with polished skill and carefully-released energy. With titles such as Garden Gnome Sex Attack, Backing Singers, and The Girl With The Shitty Shoe, you pretty much get what you expect, as they send themselves and the pretensions of dance up with a wonderful, wry humour.

These witty scenes wouldn’t be out of place in a silent-film classic; and as dancers, they’ve an excellent grasp of timing that serves them well – and when it comes to comedy that’s more important than their undoubted poise and flexibility.

Better yet are the dances allegedly picked up from their worldwide travels, pieces which seem exotic and esoteric, but gradually morph into easily recognisable mime.

Occasionally the tongue-in-cheek humour takes a back seat to more straightforward displays of their talent for tightly-choreographed movement, such as Shenton’s rhythmic One And Another, but they are never too intense. Anyone who wears a tight aquamarine leotard on stage is never going to be taken that seriously.

Banter between the pieces is low-key and brief, but enough to established the traditionally bickering double-act mechanic. Tom, it slowly emerges, is a frustrated artist, keen to leave a more impressive legacy than comic dances; while the wiry Pete is more concerned with getting on with the show.

It provides scant narrative, but helps counter the flagging energy towards the two-thirds mark, and helps build up to the show’s message that the way you dance, even down a grotty nightclub, is a form of self-expression that says a lot about who you are. For a chance from the usual man-with-a-mic stand-up, you could do a lot worse than this.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett