SKINNYFEST 2: ""Bloggers: Real Internet Diaries"" at the Underbelly

Just because someone puts something on the internet doesn't mean it's worth reading. This is a lesson that most websurfers realise within a few minutes of going online, but unfortunately it seems to have escaped the team behind this production. Comprised entirely of interspersed monologues taken verbatim from online journals, BLOGGERS is despite its exuberance a profoundly poorly written show; the cast's best efforts are not enough to overcome the inconsistent material. Five actors play a total of ten characters – from Karen Cooper's desperate housewife, played with feisty glee, to Jonathan Roberts' sympathetic performance as one half of a collapsing relationship. Most of the characters are obsessed with sex, which is fair enough, but what's odd is how contrived these personalities are: the sarcastic mum; the intense gay man; the strutting (and admittedly amusing) South London geeza. For 'real people', their stories are remarkably uncompelling – it's stuff we've heard before, and told with more spark. At it's best the show is diverting, good-natured and funny; at its worst, it's a good argument for staying home with the ole' PC. [Sean Michaels]