Brighton Fringe: 2 Guys And A Girl | Gig review by Steve Bennett at The Temple

Brighton Fringe: 2 Guys And A Girl

Note: This review is from 2014

Gig review by Steve Bennett at The Temple

At best, the 2 Guys And A Girl dipping their toes into Fringe waters with this compilation show need a lot more experience. At worst they need a major injection of inspiration.

Host Sarah Isles is the worst offender, with unengaging compering and - when it came to her own section - material to match. Banter came in the standard form of survey-taking, inquiring everyone where they came from and asking for a round of applause for various scraps of information offered, but not otherwise eliciting much natural response.

It was a chat more than comedy, which might be excused in compering, but the same criticism extends to her prepared ’routines’ too, much of which revolve around how awful her ex was and what a dump her home town of Croydon is. Her putdowns could be applied to lots of places, and more crucially be said by lots of people, most of them a lot better than this.

She has a good energy onstage, but the fact her best jokes are simple allusions to what celebrities she resembles probably tells you all you need to know

Mark Diamond is more promising as a writer, with a decent collection of strong jokes in a set delivered with a cool confidence. Some of them revolve around his looks, too (since he's tall) and he has further success going down the admittedly well-trodden avenue of class differences, contrasting his well-spoken middle-class politeness with the more direct approach of his South London relatives. There's nothing rough about this Diamond.

Little here is ground-breaking, but it's elegantly presented by a young comic who has an ear for a jokey turn of phrase, most efficiently demonstrated by his alternative advertising slogans.

Comedy magician Stu Turner – a wannabe Otiz Cannelloni – has a certain gift of the gab in mocking the cheesiness of his profession, but most of his tricks are off-the-peg templates overly familiar to anyone who's seen many such performers.

There's the odd amusing little twist, such as using a selection of awfully-titled, but genuine, books for one Derren-Brownish set-up – but it's not enough to set him apart. That feeling's exacerbated as so many of his jokes have come from a common pool, too. Must try harder is the verdict.

Review date: 5 May 2014
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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