Crammed in with the others on the Victoria Line this Wednesday I have to admit, I was rather hesitant as to whether scheduling a meeting in London when the Tube Strike was on was a good idea. But, adding in a dinner with my little sister and a trip to the Leicester Square Theatre to see 2013 Funny Women Variety Award winners Revan and Fennell was certainly a good justification for the disruption and wanderings above ground.
It is almost a year since I last saw sketch act Revan and Fennell, when they debuted their show at the Brighton Fringe at 2013 and it was wonderful to see how they have developed over a mere twelve months, with both new and revised material.
From the offset, little sis and I were shaking with laughter and sloshing our Blue Nun all over our laps watching a beautifully timed musical sketch.
A particular strength to the sketches that Revan and Fennell create is their incredible characterisation – fully inhabiting each of the diverse roles, from cement wielding builders to football fans discussing string theory and hiphop police officers. Even when fully ‘themselves’ between the sketches, Revan and Fennell create a really good balance and contrast between each other so no part felt flat in the hour show.
Clever dialogue and subtle facial expressions were contrasted fantastically with their more physical sketches which involved both singing and dancing – all to great effect.
One sketch involving two singers had little sis and I crying and jiggling about with our matching, raucous laughter. Apologies to the people on the front row who must have thought we were having some kind of episode.
The addition of the pre-recorded sketches into the show also added to the variety in the hour and allowed us all to settle for a short spell before R&F exploded back onto stage with another bout of intelligent, physical comedy.
It was honestly one of the best first shows that I have seen. Little sis and I agreed that we had not laughed that much, or that hard since a family incident involving a stray firework and an emergency leap into the fish pond. (Don’t worry. No fish or relatives were hurt)
I urge you to go and see Revan and Fennell whenever they have a show on next, but as a tip, wear waterproof eyeliner. Otherwise you risk looking like I did on the late train back to Brighton – looking at my reflection and discovering the laughter induced, tear smudged eyeliner extended to just underneath my right eyebrow.
Not a good look , but hells bells. It was worth it.
Claire Potter – You can follow Claire on Twitter @clairepotter
