Avocado Presents Review

Avocado Presents Review

4th April 2025

Jake and Hamza are Avocado and this is their improvised play. The name of this act and the concept they are presenting immediately prompts curiosity.

The meaning of improvised is to create and perform spontaneously or without preparation whilst a play is defined as a type of literary work that is designed for performance in a theatre in front of an audience comprising dialogue between various characters, divided into scenes to increase dramatic effect.

Unarguably there are elements of both in the presentation and, as one would expect being housed in the basement bar of a comedy club, the two performers have one goal, to make us laugh.

We warm to Jake and Hamza and hope the fruits of their labour will see a good performance materialize, and there are indeed laugh out loud moments, but they are few and far between in this one hour entertainment which takes us on a journey to the sunny beaches of Cancun where we meet a variety of male and female characters in a hotel bar setting.

There are passages of dialogue which have genuine comedic quality and we could well have been transported back to a television studio in the late eighties watching Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops masterfully conjuring characters which had us in stitches. The environment was often unhelpful with noise bleed from the upstairs event, unatmospheric lighting and the unwanted hum of an air conditioning unit which were all incorporated into the performance with razor sharp wit and spontaneity.

“There are passages of dialogue which have genuine comedic quality”

However for the most part this could have been two blokes fooling around in a pub being observed by onlookers. The two actors play multiple roles, often switching the same character between them which we assume is a trademark of their style. Characteristics are generally painted with broad brush strokes and lack definition or clarity which is confusing at times. Mime is used throughout but without accuracy or consistency with drinks changing size and shape or disappearing without trace.

There is perhaps an idea here which could be developed and Hamza and Jake, the ‘brothers from other mothers’ must be applauded for their originality and endeavour. Performing for an hour without knowing what comes next takes courage. Despite both being talented performers, and having the skill to improvise humourous scenes this show falls flat and fails to deliver.

Stephen Cambridge

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