Review by Steve Bennett

The Umbilical Brothers should really not be allowed to produce these one-hour shows in Edinburgh; it just is not fair to anyone else performing physical comedy.

 This year, the point of their show is that it does not have a point.  The duo do not even have a show, with The Rehearsal purporting the be about them developing a hour of material that can be used in the future. 

However unattractive this prospect may seem, the resulting hour is an insightful consideration of the nature of creativity and live comedy that is also unbelievably funny.

Under this loosely constructed concept, they debate the mechanics of jokes, argue with plants in the audience for missing their cues and discuss how they can employ a video camera.

All this is articulated with the Umbilicals’ trademark physicality and fantastic gift for mime.  At one moment, they will be fighting with invisible sponsors at the side of the stage, and even though you know it is all a farce their exaggerated actions allow you to be completely submersed into their world. This is how infectious the duo really are.

The genius of the show really lies in the fact that, as it develops, a narrative eventually begins to emerge from the melting pot, revealing how carefully constructed everything is. 

What had seemed like half-formed ideas being bandied about earlier take on entire lives of their own.  The final 15 minutes are puerile and childish, but also one of the funniest things I have ever seen on a comedy stage.  Their use of the digital camera is nothing short of phenomenal.

At one point towards the end, one of the Brothers acknowledges that the point of a rehearsal is to ‘get that one step closer to perfection’.  Easily picked up upon by simple-minded reviewers such as myself, it seems the duo could already have reached that state.  There is no obvious way to improve on this truly, truly extraordinary show.

Review date: 1 Jan 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett