Hitch and Mitch: Genisis

Article by Lewis Porteous | 12 Aug 2011

A comedy show about comedy, so self aware is Richard Hanrahan and Adam Mitchell's 45 minute offering, it's clear that its title was intentionally misspelt.

To a casual audience member, Genisis could seem slight, amateurish and anticlimactic, but to those who possess working knowledge of comedy and its conventions, it's bound to register as a charmingly left-field hit.

A primer for those new to the double act, the 'autobiographic' show touches upon the duo's immense popularity in Japan, their greatest comedic influences and the time they spent working under the auspices of Paul and Barry Chuckle. They reveal the mechanisms that power their comedy and map out the audience's future with them in absurd detail. Tacked on is some first rate character comedy - Hanrahan stealing the show as repellent working man's comic Jimmy Wobbler - inventive animation and a dose of Vic and Bob-style slapstick buffoonery.

The shadows of past double acts hang heavy over the pair, but they don't seem at all concerned. They surprise each other with amusing improvisations and sneer at comedic tradition with affectionate contempt.

Hitch and Mitch: Genisis The Banshee Labyrinth  Aug 6-27

Part of the PBH Free Fringe