4 STARS, August 16-27. Alex Owen and Ben Ashenden, aka The Pin, perform their comedy double act at The Pleasance
Matt Stronge
Great double acts stand or fall on their integral chemistry and, happily, Alex Owen and Ben Ashenden, aka The Pin, fuse really well as a comedy team. There’s little overt one-upmanship, although Owen plays the likeable goofball, Ashenden the more serious comedy anchor. Their latest show offers the concept of them as a simple warm-up act for a pair of old-school entertainers called Philip and Robin, who are, of course, played by none other than Owen & Ashenden themselves. The duo perform a short section of beautifully calibrated sketches revolving around a range of communication issues, they then disappear ‘backstage’, a large curtain centre stage dividing the action. Here they ponder their career trajectory and wonder if they’ll ever be headliners themselves, something deliberately ironic of course given their multi-tasking roles!
From this point an element of farce ensues, as each pair races around on and off-stage and chaos inevitably takes over. Only a very slick operation could pull this off successfully and it’s to The Pin’s credit that they largely achieve this. I have to admit preferring their material when they appear just as themselves but I appreciate what they’re trying to achieve with the sketch within a sketch conceit.
Their material is variable but at its best is delivered with both superb comedic timing and a real sense of infectious joy. Whether debating the missing (and crucial!) middle page of a three page script, pondering the linguistic variables of a wrongly spelt job ad (proof reader? No, roof weeder!) or offering depth by virtue of a Scandi drama utterly impossible to understand, they’re a joy to behold and it’s an unequivocal pleasure to spend an hour in such mercurial company.
Tickets: edfringe.com
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