The sketch comedy duo kick off their tour in Soho
★★★★☆
Five months on from their award-winning debut show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Grubby Little Mitts team have only gone and sold out two nights at the Soho Theatre - a sure sign that they’ve cooked up an hour of slick, unrelenting comedy.
This does not feel like a debut sketch show from Rosie Nicholls and Sullivan Brown. By contrast, this is a well-crafted performance peppered with absurdist realities, amusing callbacks and reckless stamina, all held together by two incredibly strong comedic performers and a script that is determined to repeatedly subvert expectations.
All centred around a chaise longue, gracefully introduced through dance and mime to Wet Leg’s hit song of the same name, the sketches begin to flow. We have name-obsessed hostage takers, pig-based game shows and reoccurring coffee shop scenes that exponentially fizz with swelling sexual tension and silliness.
There is never any doubt that Nicholls and Brown are exceptional sketch performers equipped with stamina that refuses to quit - not to mention the clearcut chemistry they have together as comedians. Even in sketches void of dialogue, they thrive. One such example being a clown-like scene involving a plank of wood that materialises into their child as they imagine what their life together might grow to be before they realise they were only attempting to put up a shelf.
A personal favourite scene has to be the Washing Olympics as a desperate man hopelessly hides himself in a reality where he is a sports presenter, communicating through commentary as his partner inevitably leaves him. Brown is wonderful here, sinking further into despair - particularly on form when playing problematic men who struggle to read the more obvious social cues. Nicholls has her moments into the spotlight too, particularly strong when employing lengthy silences or rigorous repetition to great comedic effect, perfectly demonstrated in her frantic and comical victorian plumbing sketch.
Grubby Little Mitts have the foundations to build themselves an identity in the sketch comedy scene and not just through their obsession with the colour red - every single prop and costume (chaise longue included) is red, every single one. By grounding their piece in everyday reality their brand of comedy is accessible and relatable before it decides to fling us into unexpected comedic realms unknown. It is equally bizarre, unpredictable and hilarious - more than worth the ticket price.
Various Tour Dates till 3 April - Tickets