Camden Fringe 2019
Low Down
This is the first show by comedy duo Alice and Livvy, who are Best Friends. It is a blend of show tunes, competitive jokes, self-deprecation, and audience interaction. Exploring female friendship, feminism, and fame.
Review
As soon as the show starts Alice and Livvy want to make one thing clear – they are looking for fans, they are seeking attention and they want to get famous. Although they do appreciate the irony of trying to achieve that through putting on a cabaret show at the Camden Fringe. Their primary device is witty show tunes that mainly tackle the topic of their friendship and their search for fame, with a few digs and a lot of competitiveness. Being two women there are inevitably some jokes about faulty feminism, although this doesn’t seem in any way like an attempt to educate, but to add some topical humour to the mix.
Alice and Livvy are both strong performers and the songs they’ve written are smart and funny without trying too hard. Their relationship and chemistry is excellent and their comedic timing on point. They have created a very entertaining show and their potential is exciting.
My only criticism is that the show was fairly safe. And this has nothing to do with their performances, but with their choices and structure. It was an excellent show for “a short cabaret at the Camden Fringe”, but it can be an excellent show full stop, if they are willing to go the extra mile.
Everything Alice and Livvy do works, all their jokes land and at no point are the audience lost or bored. The duo has a good concept for this show, but it fell a bit short because they didn’t take enough risks. The show could also benefit from a slightly clearer structure, it may be a cabaret, but there still needs to be a journey; the beginning was promising, but the rest of the show seemed like a long middle with not really an ending.
That said, there is a moment that Livvy goes downstage and flirts with an audience member before giving him her number. Perhaps it doesn’t sound that original, but it was done so well. It was risky, bold, utterly funny and in a good way quite uncomfortable – so more of that please!
The reality is that Alice and Livvy are strong performers and their chemistry makes them a delight to watch, but this is why I want more from them. Comedy is hard, but they can do it and they can certainly keep an audience entertained. Now it’s time to take it to the next level!
