T2 Brainclotting“Do you think that I, or anybody else that cares about the NHS would stand by and do nothing if we thought the NHS was going to be privatised… and it’s funds were going to be cut? Would we stand back and do nothing without a fight? Of course not” (Gordon Brown). T2 Brainclotting is a comedy sketch show about the NHS, created by the MD’s Comedy Revue. Whilst the conversation around our NHS continues, whether it should be privatised and how tough life can be working with the service, T2 Brainclotting sheds a comedic eye over the ongoing challenges within the medical world.
Sketch show comedy is at its best when the audience are given short, fast-paced scenes that reflect upon moments that all the audience can associate with. T2 does this well and gives the audience plenty of recognisable scenarios such as a pharmacist’s or doctor’s waiting room. There are, of course, many cultural and political references that are topical at the moment. The writing is strong and some of the cast have some amusing characters which return in multiple sketches. It is an interesting premise for a sketch show and the continuity within this theme is admirable.
There is, however, a lot of work to be done for this group. The title and description of the show lead the audience to believe there will be a heavy influence from the well know ‘Trainspotting’ films – a hugely impactful and gritty series which of course will be well known in Edinburgh. After the initial voice over for the show, taken in homage to Trainspotting, there is no more reference to the films and forgets this idea completely. This is a shame and could have been used to cover the transitions between sketches, which were lifeless and absorbed the show’s energy.
The cast seemed also seemed a little too comfortable in the show and rarely interacted with the audience. The audience want to see the cast enjoying themselves too and being open to improvisation, but the script appeared very strict and over-rehearsed. The writing is one of the show’s strengths and there are some sketches which really did have the audience laughing, but these did not come regularly enough and were amongst sketches which included tedious musical numbers and some underwhelming performances.
A good comedy show for those interested in the NHS and medical sector and one must admire the cast for taking this theme and turning it into a sketch comedy. However, there are many better sketch comedy shows at the fringe and this cast has a way to go before finding their success.
Review by James Evans
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose stability. Choose respectability. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and working for the NHS. Choose Medicine. Choose to spend your time at UCL Medical School putting on award-winning comedy sketch shows about medicine. Choose to bring your award-winning shows back to the Fringe after two sell-out runs in 2015 and 2016.
T2 Brainclotting
The MDs Comedy Revue
Aug 13-18, 17:20 (0h45m)
https://www.edfringe.com/