When you walk into a room to see a stage set with a kitsch lamp, a variety of musical instruments, and two comedians frozen in action, you know you’re in for a good time.
Doody and Jase are Anyone For Tennis?, a musical comedy duo playing in an intimate room in the darkest depths of labyrinthine Trades Hall. Their inventive and energetic performance makes it well worth the trek.
Their show Take Your Time hinges on the premise that the comics have killed Time. That’s Father Time, who lives in a shoebox and interjects throughout the show. Confused? Don’t worry, the boys explain. And though the Time character pops up throughout the show, Doody and Jase segue into songs about P.E. teachers, children in sweatshops, penguins, ghosts and eating aluminium cans.
The Margherita song is classic, with spot on delivery and an extended double meaning that had the audience laughing all the way through. In another song, Jase promises not to spike a girl’s drink, then imagines how her wariness plays out in their relationship. Quirky material such as the ‘fast asking’ contest and the real-life board game demonstrates their creativity. The daydream sequence loses a little energy, but things pick up again with a song about a land of skivvies, an air-conditioned bunker they’ll escape to when global warming becomes too much.
The show succeeds musically as well as comedically. Tight instrumentals, melodic and powerful voices and harmonies that make you all tingly set this duo apart. They cross genres with ease and they’ve written pleasantly catchy choruses.
Among a sea of shows trading in straight-shooting stand-up and observations on the difference between men and women, originality is a big strength of this act. The duo is playing a small room, but it was almost full, which is always a good sign on a weeknight. And the audience responded with much laughter, cheering and multiple rounds of applause. The formula of funny songs between scripted banter invites comparisons to more established performers like Tripod. It’s evident that they don’t have this kind of experience yet and a few jokes don’t receive anything more than warm smiles from the crowd. But they have the ideas and the talent to go a very long way.
Anyone for Tennis? might be an undiscovered gem now, but word will spread. Go book your tickets.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details