Adams & Rea: Blissfully Unaware - Fringe 2009
Live Review

I suppose you would have to say that Adams & Rea are the nearest thing there is a female Flight of the Conchords, even if they don’t set out to be so. While on a musical level they are well matched, in terms of this show, their respective ability to engender warmth and laughter are at opposite ends of the scale.

  Individually Sarah Adams and Leisa Rea have a good track record behind them with Jade the Folk Singer and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain respectively. As Adams and Rea they have also impressed in short bursts.

  It’s within this context that I find them disappointing tonight. One of their first numbers called Stockbridge lampoons pushy middle class mums and dads but after the hour is up I can’t help wondering that the overwhelmingly Radio 4 nature of their act isn’t exactly the kind of thing that these ‘targets’ would be listening to.

  Some of the subsequent songs are more ditties and punch ines set to music and while this is fine for things like the self-explanatory Non Sequitur Song you can’t help feel that some of their other compositions, such as their protest song about a poor quality corner shop, could be explored more.

  The corner shop song was in last year’s show – and it’s not the only one. Familiar tunes include the ragga tune Put It In Mi Bin. Delivered in an accomplished fashion this ditty encourages a more responsible attitude towards litter and recycling while retaining the sexual overtones of its musical genre. The duo tell us that they have used this song when they have toured schools but the inappropriate nature of it is not wholly brought out because of their often clipped and mannered nature, something that stymies the show overall.

  Throw in to the mix some run-of-the mill tunes about the moderate stresses of family holidays and a guide to disco dancing and you end up with an evening you might happily have been ignorant of.