God's Pottery

Last year's If.comeddie nominees, God’s Pottery don't do things in half measures. This year, they have set their sights on saving the world.

Armed with a guitar, angelic voices, painfully uncool clothing and a battery of absurd acronyms (for example, BaLaNCE – "Building a Life around Neverending Christian Ethics"), Jeremiah Smallchild and Gideon Lamb set about solving the world's problems through song. Which beats the socks off jihad.

Christianity is a target that has been shot at by nearly every British or American comic living and working in this day and age. It is, perhaps, God's Pottery's greatest attribute that they are able to tackle a particularly open-to-attack flank and do so in a way that is gently mocking yet bitingly satirical. The songs are often inspired, in particular the one about adopted children, entitled "You're Just as Special as a Normal Child,” and their prioritisation of character over the easy laugh, means God's Pottery should be considered among the top stand-up satirists around.

Unfortunately, much of the set is rather formulaic: the audience is given a problem, shown a video and then played a song, a routine which recurs four or five times and which is more than a little tiresome. Were it not for the dynamic exploration of the pair's relationship and their fantastic on-stage chemistry, there would be little to keep a sleep-deprived audience-member awake.

Additionally, the lack of immediate gratification detracts from their set, as there are few side-splitting moments; although the multi-media reconciliation scene where Gideon and Jeremiah serande one another from afar is top stuff.

God’s Pottery need to work a little harder on making their set a little funnier before they can achieve brilliance.