[Theatre/Physical Theatre/Music, United Kingdom World Premiere]

The Courtyard at Treasury 1860 Sat 24 Feb 2024

There is a whiff of Laurel and Hardy and other great comedy duos about this duo comprised of two close friends from the same city in England, but their humour is more whimsical. They could probably do stand-up as well, but these two are too busy with four, yes, count them, four different shows this year. As the name of this show suggests, it combines spoken word with songs played on a solo guitar. The stories are done mainly as rap-like poetry, and some items combine this with the music, alternating and as backing.

Themes of family and relationships gradually grow into wider ones such as the meaning of art, which let’s us find meaning, and ‘hope is belief and belief is hope,’ reminding us of Keats’ ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty.’ There are stories and songs both ‘heartbreaking and healing’, and great lines like, ‘alchemy is irreversible.’ In one duo sequence when they ask ‘what makes a house a home?’ there’s the line: ‘…with you I’m two up, I was one down on my own.’ I also love the refrain of another new song, ‘colour me in, so much is black and white.’ There is even a poem from Kate Tempest included as a favourite.

I expected an eclectic mix, since this is billed as a showcase of their new work, however ragged. This is the Fringe, after all, and that’s what it’s for.It was rather a pity then when they included bits from past shows, rather than relying on their new material. I don’t know whether Al and Phil didn’t have enough, they didn’t trust it, or they just wanted a simple way to involve the audience by asking them to choose. Either way it left less time for the new, and I really was left wanting more. This talented team has much to offer, and I recommend you take their invitation seriously and ‘come with fear, come with love, come however you are.’