Good Kids @ Just the Tonic, Mash House

Good Kids' shining moments of musical comedy and sketch are let down by the structure of their new show, Appetite

Review by Polly Glynn | 15 Aug 2022
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Sketch comedy isn’t everyone’s favourite comedy delivery method. Synonymous with hokey theatre students thinking they’re performing life-changing works, it’s refreshing to see a group like Good Kids not taking themselves too seriously. When Appetite works, it really works, although the audience are loath to warm up to their wares, waiting until approximately halfway through to fully engage and take their jokes squarely on the chin.

Both Kieran Ahern and Tom Dowling are talented musical comedians. Using this to their advantage, the duo perform several early '00s inspired songs which are busy with gags. The opening number, a Blazin' Squad style pastiche, falls a little flat but the rest of the songs are strong, particularly their song of regret centred around calling a teacher ‘mom’ (in their thick Brummie accents), and their attempt to redeem themselves with a charity single. There’s a few killer gags not set to music too; one particularly memorable line about skydiving makes the room ripple with laughter, whilst a quip from an audience member about how their pal was banned from Homebase really encourages the crowd to get onside.

Sadly, it’s Good Kids’ framing device which lets the hour down. We’re welcomed into a success conference whereby our two hosts aim to teach us how to be the change we want to see. They’re occasionally interrupted by the two conference founders (who look suspiciously like Penn and Teller which is hard to get past), and there’s a wild throwback to tiger blood like it’s 2011. The structure appears largely retrofit to sneak into the gaps between better-honed sketches but the scenes themselves have no connecting theme, let alone fit into this wider success framework. It kills any momentum the solo sketches have built up and makes for an underwhelming pay off, even though it follows a classic redemption arc.

Should Good Kids be on a club lineup, performing a tight 10 minutes of sketches, they’d be an assured standout. Sadly, Appetite just doesn’t hold together as a longform sketch show.


Good Kids: Appetite, Just the Tonic @ Mash House (Just the Cask Room), until 28 Aug (not 15 Aug), 6.25pm, £5