Town Hall Laugh Chamber
Review: Susan Budd
With their creaky puns, mismatched, ill-fitting suits and illogical logic, Lano & Woodley do not, at first laugh, appear slick. But as the dizzy Aussie duo travel in crazy fits and silly starts through their show, "slick" is a fit description of their brilliant timing.
They come from a long tradition of comedy couples comprising a big bully and a small, sensitive nerd. Martin & Lewis, Morecambe & Wise, Laurel & Hardy, Disney's Tom & Jerry are all forebears. The trick is that the little guy always wins the contest and the audience's sympathy. Brute force is always the loser when opposed by guile.
They sing, dance and fight for real -- Woodley's hand was glowing after a slapping game. They out-Marcel Marceau in mime and Woodley could embark upon an alternative career as a contortionist with his rubber limbs and mobile clown's face.
Best of all is their energy, verve and enormous, irrepressible sense of fun and they seem to be enjoying their show as much as the audience rolling in the aisles.
Their mimed tennis match is hilarious in real time but, played in slow motion with a ball at the end of a rod, their voices deep and dragging, it is sublimely funny, a truly remarkable tour de force.
Their contact lens factory sketch is almost as good. Who could forget Woodley with a dustbin on his shoulder as an inter-galactic pirate with R2D2 as his parrot?
Their songs are delightful, especially the one devoted to Woodley's small brother Ian.
Their jokes are often remarkably silly and their puns execrable. And they have a strange fixation with Winnie the Pooh.
But the sillier the jokes, the more riotous the fun. Even jaded comedy-goers will find it hard not to laugh.
Performance: Lano & Woodley Are Slick
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