Brighton Fringe comedy review

Though still a little wet behind the ears, comedy duo Jack McMinn and Absana Rutherford  prove themselves inventive writers in this sketch and musical comedy hour.

McMinn has a particular flair for a familiar sort of old-fashioned, jaunty but slightly twee – and very middle-class – whimsical cabaret composition that was once ubiquitous in the genre. But the genre is updated with knowing, clever and contemporary wit in the lyrics. 

Rutherford has a penchant for costumes – including a giant banana and a pillar-box – with silly musings delivered entirely seriously. Her angry existential poem, performed as Where’s Wally?, is a prime example, and a clear highlight of her contributions.

The pair interact sometimes – including a probably overlong guitar-battle sketch ruined by a sound system that provided all the volume of an asthmatic turtle – but Petfood! seems more like a collaboration of two solo performers than a double act with well-honed chemistry. 

McMinn’s a showman – with any slight cheesiness to his vaudevillian frivolity overcome by his enthusiasm – while Rutherford is much more deadpan and seems less at home on the stage. Some of her segments could be sold with more verve, but the smartness of the writing Shine through.

The quality of the components is not consistent, to trot out that familiar sketch show criticism, but between them they show lots of inventive instinct. 

Decades ago, they would have walked straight into a Radio 4 early-evening comedy slot – of course they would, they’re products of the Oxford Revue. In today’s landscape they probably need to evolve a little further beyond the conventions they are drawing on, but all the signs are there that they’ll be able to. 

Review date: 4 May 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Brighton The Temple