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Comedy double act Matt & Lamont's latest venture - Nudge - tells the tale of two performance-shy comedians spending their lives in their flat writing material they're destined never to perform.
The duo's severe case of performance block leaves them with only each other as the other's audience. So, what we get are not so much conversations between the pair, but performances as they effectively try out new material on each other. At times, the clever exchanges and flashbacks are so surreal it's like watching Vic and Bob stuck in the Big Brother house.
Just when the perpetual cycle of performing to each other seems to have reached the comedy doldrums, into their lives walks - or should I say 'shouts' - their nutty neighbour Cecil Devereaux (Peter Buckley Hill).
With his endless screaming about albinos and other-worldly demeanour, Hill is reminiscent of Kramer from Seinfeld but with smaller hair and more surreal outbursts. Now, while this type of neighbour may seem two-a-penny in London, this particular neighbour turns out to be the catalyst that re-lights the duo's comedy fire.
As they prepare to send Devereaux to an Old People's Home (by mail), the pair discover that he is in fact a 70's comedy legend who went missing over thirty years ago.
Will Devereaux turn out to be the muse the pair so richly desire? Will Matt and Lamont ever perform again? Is Devereaux really who he says he is and is he, in fact, actually alive? There's never a dull moment in this play.
Nudge is a deliciously surreal romp delivered with contagious energy and charisma by the cast. At times laugh-out-loud funny and always unpredictable, the show is definitely one to watch at this year's Edinburgh Festival.
- reviewed by MB
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