Who is Jean? Go the Distance

It's always a bad sign when a trendy young sketch troupe is unable to fill its own free, hand-drawn zine, handed out to the audience upon entry. Certainly, it's reflective of a dearth of material in Who is Jean?'s new show, in which the weakest moments of forced randomness are too stretched out to even be considered filler. During one low point, they present a scenario in which Sesame Street has run out of words to teach its preschool viewers, the ensuing series of inappropriate suggestions an obvious pay-off to an outdated premise. In other instances, they reference Diff'rent Strokes, a show which they are too young to remember first-hand, and crowbar in a song so derivative of The Mighty Boosh that the hour begins to feel like an ill-advised homage.

Fortunately, the trio are extremely likeable performers. If ironic moustaches are the lowest form of wit, then nobody told Niall McCamley, a natural clown. James Stewart's leaden delivery, meanwhile, makes him a brilliantly subversive straight man. When they appear to loosen up and deviate from the script, their talent shines through. Here's hoping that Who is Jean? can find a suitable vehicle for it.