What an odd show this is. Allsopp and Henderson play Lee Gribley and Lomond Ramis, jingle writers and half-brothers who have spent their whole lives living in an apartment since their mother abandoned them. They have a very peculiar method for crafting jingles and some of the jingles the two perform during the show are very funny indeed.The story follows their disintegration as jingle writers, when one of the brothers, Lee, falls in love with a woman they met briefly through the mailslot of their front door. Unfortunately the show takes an awfully long time to get to the point, and in general needs to be sped up, particularly the scene changes which seem to take forever. It’s not that The Jinglists isn’t funny, it’s just that the performers take such a long time establishing their characters that the audience is bored by the time they get there.
As comedians and performers, Allsopp and Henderson are obviously accomplished and interested in creating clever and detailed characters, but the broader world of The Jinglists remains vague. The audience is left to focus on the scatty relationship between the two half-brothers, whereas the world of writing and creating jingles (which is definitely more interesting) is only used as a device and this is an oversight that needs to be redressed. It was also hard to hear some of the audio throughout the show, particularly the opening voiceover which seemed to be blocked out by the backing music.
If you’re looking for something truly odd, then The Jinglists just might be for you, otherwise it’s probably best to look elsewhere.
The Brian McCarthy Memorial with the help of The Comedy Channel presents
Allsopp & Henderson’s
THE JINGLISTS
Directed by Ansuya Nathan
Venue: Bosco Theatre, Federation Square Melbourne
Previews: 20th - 23rd March
Season: 20th March - 13th April (no show Mondays)
Tickets: $22.50/$19.50 concession; $15.00 previews
Times: 9.30pm Tue-Sat / 8.30pm Sundays
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 or comedyfestival.com.au