Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Sketch duo Norris & Parker enter from the back of the Monkey Barrel in full-length veils, gyrating mysteriously and ready to lure the audience onto the sharp rocks of their comedy. 

Their new hour makes no claims to tightness (not narrative tightness anyway) but is bound together by an appreciation for sirens of all types. Whether playing versions of themselves or parodying archetypal silver-screen divas, vicious and alluring women are their stock in trade.

As a writing team, they have a lot to offer. Their material is exceptionally fast-paced and snappy, perfect for the realm of classic movies. They return regularly to instalments of The Lighthouse, a delirious play-within-a-play featuring ghosts, possessions, pig-women, lots of melodrama and a terrifying lighthouse, performed with those rapid-fire foghorn voices. 

Otherwise, almost all of their sketches involve music and dancing in some way, usually huge stings from the sound system accompanied by flashing lights. Multiple scenarios end in an abrupt rave.

Aside from the music, their material is characterised by a heady mix of horniness and aggression. In another highlight, their techno sex party organisers spend most of their sketch whipping each other with riding crops. The pair are often set in opposition to each other, and they spend a lot of time comedically sniping and backbiting, shit-talking with such speed that some jokes are lost at the back of the room. If they slowed down by even a few per cent, their writing might shine through even more.

Without wishing to spoil the ending, it’s a trick we’ve seen a few times recently, and one that provides a little real-world context for the duo’s relationship. Usually pretty reliable, it doesn’t work so well here.  Not to deny the strength of their bond, of course, but their decision to reach for sentiment feels contradictory rather than revelatory.

• Norris & Parker: Sirens is on at Monkey Barrel Comedy at 9.15pm.
 

Review date: 16 Aug 2022
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club