Reviewed by: The List
Review by Jo Laidlaw | 26 February 2024
Improvisational comedy is hard. Improvisational comedy when there are only two people there to pick up the cues and create a cast of characters is harder still. So kudos to Eleanor Stankiewicz and Marcel Blanch-de Wilt , who are both married in real-life and make up The Newlyweds, a tiny improv team of two (plus Edmund on the piano). As expected, each show is different and based on a shouted-out prompt and one brief conversation with an audience member. The pair then have to think on their feet to build a story that’s compelling enough to hold our interest for a whole hour. And there’s no doubting the skill of these two; they weave seamlessly in and out of different characters and situations, ultimately building a world through nothing more than body language and voices. It’s impressive stuff, but ultimately the laughs don’t come hard or fast enough to tip the tone of the evening from amusing to hilarious. Still, there’s plenty of pleasure to be had just watching Stankiewicz and Blanch-de Wilt’s work as they riff and bounce off each other to make something out of nothing. Well worth taking a chance upon, in the hopes of an evening of brilliance; whatever happens, you won’t be bored.