Review by Steve Bennett

The premise is that 'Robert' (Caroline Espenhahn) and 'Stephen' (Margaret Cabourn-Smith) are trying imprint themselves on the audience's minds, and thus become eligible to fulfill their dream of appearing on Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes.

A series of tenuously-linked sketches follow this revelation, as the girls showcase their slapstick dancing, suitably pretentious acting and virtual keyboard player.

They play countless videos, take phone calls and display pictures, while much of the time is taken up with audience interaction. We are variously asked to take part in a 'fruit auction', sign a sheet stating how famous we think the duo are, and become agony aunts for the pair.

This onslaught of multimedia activity is Upsettables' trump card, breaking up the monotony of watching two girls clown around for an hour.

The show is slick, well-acted and professionally directed, featuring likeable characters and a strong premise. But this cannot compensate for the weakness of the writing or the poor structure.

There is no coherent narrative, while the few gags (such as the discovery that a scene has been plagiarised from Bergerac) are over-played until the original idea ceases to be funny. This reference - and several others - were well past their use-by dates, leaving the audience either puzzled or embarrassed.

Near the end of the show, the girls stage a poll on how well-known they have become and the results leave them downhearted. 'We'll never be famous at this rate,' one laments. They are probably right.

Review date: 1 Jan 2003
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett