Review by Julian Hall

Two white middle-class guys in our early thirties who haven't given up the dream’ is how this double act introduce themselves. The statement sets a welcoming tone of irreverence for this sparky show from the Hackney Empire New Act Of The Year finalists.

It's a familiar journey; quick blackout-punchline sketches mingle with slightly longer set-pieces that reveal something of the duo's relationship as well as ‘imagineering’ surreal sketches, for example about a man whose son is caught violating a school pet and re-training a resurgent Vanilla Ice away from misogynistic lyrics.

Highly polished, the mix of sketches increasingly gravitates towards the pair's dynamic, to the point where a sketch that does not involve this starts to look incongruous. But the quality of some of the later skits doesn't do always justice to much of what has gone before.

While there are some structural elements to be looked at there's much to enjoy: silly ideas such as a needy Batman are brought out by the charm of the pair's performances.

With Pamphilon dubbed the ‘sexy idiot’ and McNeil the ‘intelligent dullard’, they share an equal footing when it comes to roles in sketches. If the power balance only ever went one way ideas could look tired. They even have a decent take on the inevitable homosexual frisson sub-plot, though even bringing this up might seem lame.

A few times during the show, Huey Lewis and the News's Hip To Be Square is used a as background music. It seems apt as this sketch double act have gone some way to refreshing what can be a very old school pursuit.

Review date: 20 Aug 2011
Reviewed by: Julian Hall