Review – Andy and Darcy are Home Alone

Andy and Darcy are best friends. We join them on a night, home alone, as they gad about, reminisce, get up to all manner of antics, and discover what the future holds for their close friendship.

The performance is a variety show of sorts; as Darcy (Darcy St Jack) and Andy (Andy Balloch) amuse themselves, we’re presented with comedy songs, sing-a-longs, hopelessly silly magic tricks, puppet plays and pranks. The evening is a conglomeration of pop culture homages; we are presented with game-show spoof Who Wants to Be a Therapist, swashbuckling pirate melodies and Andy’s gayer-than-thou antics.

The show suffers a bit of an identity crisis. Sure, it’s not necessary to be able to categorise every performance as a play, musical comedy, or skit show, but the internal logic leading from one bit to the next is weak to non-existent. While Andy’s character is larger than life, Darcy’s acting remains wooden, and the schism between the two styles further damages the willing suspension of disbelief the audience needs to fully get on board with the pair.

While the concepts behind some of the musical interludes is cogent enough, if a little in poor taste, some musical numbers tilted towards karaoke. Why the two launched into a direct cover of the theme song to Friends was beyond me – it added little to the plot and contained no original twist. Like the worst of poetry I’m sure this play was put together with sincerity, but what is hilarious in your own living room late one night doesn’t always translate on stage to strangers.

Darcy clearly totes some musical talent on piano, harbouring some guitar and ukulele skills as well. A couple of the duets were not too shabby, and a couple of call-backs strengthened the performance.

So confused was I by the end of the performance that when Darcy made an important announcement to Andy, one that would have implications for their friendship, I lacked the empathy to be on board with the emotional twist to the plot. This play just didn’t get there in the end.