one4review | On 10, Aug 2022

Comedy duo Thick’n’Fast have loads of good and interesting and funny ideas swirling around, but they haven’t, in this show at least, managed to make them coalesce and mature into sustained and substantial comedy. That said, there’s something about the Radio 4 comedy play about this show, and would probably work as that rather nicely. Their distilled staging and character signifiers were just enough to help us follow the narrative and who the characters were, and would translate well into audio. The narrative, however, if stripped from the padding of comedy, is rather thin and bit like something a group of eight year olds would invent at play time. The drama starts high and leaves itself few places to go.

The show is the story of two entirely inexperienced women appointed to the role of General Secretaries of the UN with accompanying rulers-of-the-world powers. Through a series of sketches we follow them on their journey from learning of the appointment to the eventual outcome (no spoilers!). Along the way we meet some recurring characters and witness their attempts to make the world a better place.

Their understanding of the craft of comedy is demonstrably sound, and both performances are convincing and engaging. There is a good smattering of funny, and varieties of funny, throughout, and the final number is worth the rest (I wonder if it came first, before the story? It is bloody good, and highly amusing). Careers to keep track of.

Reviewed by Laura

Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
15:00 (not 16th)