Review – Mixed Doubles

Mixed Doubles, an hour long sketch comedy show from London, will have you clutching your sides, wiping tears from your eyes, and will keep you laughing for days afterwards. The foursome contains the comedic talents of Megan Smith, Rose Robinson, Paul Aitchison and Will Close, and there are few topics they do not touch on: relationships, the last supper, misunderstood vampires, pick up strategies, ‘charismatic’ tennis players, Willy Wonka, social blunders and a whole lot more. Even Julian Assange isn’t safe in these hilarious and irreverent parodies. It all flowed wonderfully, and the characters are very funny; sometimes so real and familiar, and other times so ludicrous and unexpected, that you either find yourself nodding vigorously in recognition or slapping your hand to your mouth in surprise.

For me the stand-out performer was Will Close, who manages to swing effortlessly from one character to the next. My personal favourites were his Willy Wonka impersonation, and also his portrayal of a young boy who is alienated from his peers due to an unexpected characteristic. All of the members of Mixed Doubles are strong, though, and they seem at great ease with one another in every skit. The costumes are very basic, but the simplicity of their attire keeps the audience from being distracted, and instead forces us to focus on the performances.

The show is classically stylistic and I agree with the accolades they’ve received – likening Mixed Doubles to Fry and Laurie and the Monty Python boys. Though it is very reminiscent of this era, it is also contemporary with a high percentage of topical references which are suited to today’s audience. I really dislike when comedians use extreme crassness in an attempt to shock a response from the audience and so I was relieved and delighted to find that this group does not do that, nor do they need to – the laughs are plentiful and genuine. Even if there were a few sketches that didn’t quite hit the mark, they were over so quickly that it didn’t matter much. I think the sign of a really successful show is when the people streaming out of the theatre are already replaying their favourite moments out loud.

If you’ve already seen the show I urge you not to go repeating your favourite bits to your friends. Instead let the dynamic foursome of Mixed Doubles do it themselves. They’ll do it so much sexier than we could anyway.