Annie and Lena have a talk show. They may only be
mere production assistants on it, but this isn't going to stop the pair from
working their way through the ranks to become the hosts of their talk show, "Talk
Show". What follows are a number of talk show based sketches with the
comedy duo taking on all the roles, including host and guest and everything in
between.
There are fun moments in Annie and Lena Have A Talk Show, such as when they play
a game of musical chairs and whoever sits on the chair impersonates a famous
talk show host. Moon's Drew Barrymore portrayal might only last a few seconds, but
it is frighteningly accurate in voice and personality (as well as Moon having a
slight resemblance to Barrymore). Their "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets (by
Annie and Lena)" is also quite entertaining, particularly with the
celebrities they record reading their mean tweets and then have them roast the
pair back with VERY sassy retorts. I wish we could have seen more of this
creativity.
While portions of the show are improvised, it feels
like not enough preparation has gone into the improvisation and we end up with segments
falling flat or basic jokes about penises and shit that wear thin quickly. Even
the scripted parts seem to sink into cheap penis jokes about animals that could
have been funnier if more thought had gone into how to present it rather than basically
listing different penises these animals have.
The host / guest element also doesn't really succeed
with two "guests" being a bit too similar in their delivery and what
they are giving back to the host. Other guests, like a member of the Jackass
group and a zoologist start promising but they don’t always land resulting in
awkward interactions. In another section, an audience member is on stage being
interviewed with Lumsden feeding Moon her lines and instructions off stage, but
it doesn't inspire any laughter when we can hear it all and are in on the joke
already.
Annie and Lena are a strong pair of comedians and by
working together for years, they know how to make the other one laugh, but
there needs to be more structure and awareness of what they are looking to
achieve with Annie and Lena Have A Talk Show. Hopefully they can find that as
the season progresses.
DETAILS
Venue: The Malthouse, 113 Sturt St, Southbank
Season: until 21 April | Tues - Sat 6:15pm, Sun 5:15pm
Duration: 50 minutes
Tickets: $27 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
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