Review by Steve Bennett

Though performed very simply, Lazy Susan have cinematic aspirations for their show. There’s intensity in the dialogue and an aim to tell bigger stories than a quick sketch can contain.

Yet the characters, performed with a straight bat to bring realism to their unreal scenarios, left me cold. And since the comedy comes from these creations and the weird scenarios more than a gaggy script, that’s a big issue…

Although their characters include yet another comedy life coach (Jackie Sanchez, who has an awed sidekick), they are generally idiosyncratically original: a one-eyed cowboy longing for a lost love, and the dog offering romantic counsel; a young man persuading his date to make a sex tape to escape an alleged killer on the loose. And in the longest story, an Australian drunk spending a night in the cells who turns out to have had a history with the guard, stretching back to a school dance demonstration.

Celeste Dring and Freya Parker,who were nominated for the Foster’s best newcomer award last year, perform in clownish whiteface, and bring their creations to convincing life with the minimal of costume and props (though special mention for the stuffed toy duck).

Scenes tend to be odd from the start, then often extend in flashbacks and fast forward to paint a bigger picture. But nothing really sticks in the mind; and the character’s actions tended to lack motivation – while not being ridiculously silly enough for that not to matter.

The tone is certainly different, and the execution near-faultless on a technical level, but a vital connection seems missing to really bring the humour out.

Review date: 29 Aug 2015
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Pleasance Dome