Brighton Fringe: Max and Iván's Holmes and Watson
Tonight Matthew, Max and Iván were going to be 'The world’s greatest detective' tackling 'Chicago’s murky underworld'. It was going to be 'A prohibition-era tale of revenge, whiskey and javelins.' In case you're still confused I'm referring to the latest show from a pair of talented comedy actors who are a regular feature at the Brighton Fringe.
Their previous shows used their own style of comedy sketch with their 2009 Televisionaires show (their Mario & Luigi meets Martin Scorsese was hilarious) then their 2010 show, simply titled Max and Iván (loved their bad stand-up comedian character with inner monologue). Unlike Late Night Gimp Fight who produce every sketch with an almost guaranteed punchline and barrel laugh, Max and Iván are more like comedy craftsmen sculpting characters, catchphrases, awkward situations and direction into a full-bodied performance. For a Saturday night and with the Great Escape in full flow, the Marlborough Theatre was a lot more packed than last year and deservedly so.
Their latest show goes like this. Holmes is now a washed-up, gibbering wreck of a detective of which Watson has to put up with. Meanwhile, in Chicago some evil plot will reunite the detective duo with a past villain. Perhaps their recent viewing habits had matched mine with the recent BBC series of Holmes and combining it with Boardwalk Empire. Along the way we meet some shape-shifting henchmen with javelins, prostitutes and showgirls for some love interest and Chicago's mob bosses.
The duo cleverly switch scenes throughout the hour with flashbacks to fill in past events making the show perfectly timed but still at a fast pace. At times there are up to five or six very amusing characters within a scene yet the pair never miss a line or forget their character. Nice use of the Charleston dance too, genius!
This new show just confirms their talent on their ability to expand their writing and performance skills to another level. I often think that they could benefit from costume changes or props but this would just slow the pace down.
What really made my night was actually being recognised by the duo as we passed them on the stairs. "You're GingerDJ" in very excited voices, "you gotta blog about us!". I felt really guilty for not staying for a drink but at least its inspired me to keep blogging.
Good luck to them in Edinburgh and I hope they don't get lynched for their Scottish accent!
Related articles
- The New Current: Comedy preview of Holmes and Watson
- Ginger DJ Rob: Max and Iván Televisionaires 2009 Review
- Ginger DJ Rob: Max and Iván 2010 Review
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