Boys & Girls at the Tristan Bates Theatre

Meet Tom Worsley and Alice Marshall or, in this instance, a boy and a girl who take us on a whirlwind journey through time, exploring the diverse relationships between males and females and the numerous ways in which we communicate and connect.

A fast-paced show, Boys & Girls is structured around a number of comedy sketches that are separated by quick on-stage costume changes. This creates a high-energy atmosphere that grabs the audience’s attention from the onset, with the use of simple props adding further comedy and clarity to each scene. The comical pair successfully transports the audience into a range of real-life events, inviting viewers to relate to everyday situations including blind dates, teenage gossip, sibling rivalry and father-daughter relationships, to name but a few.

The show is laugh-out-loud funny on the whole, but lacks fully developed characters and more considered dialogue in places, with some scenes ending prematurely and with little time for the audience to take in and savour the references. Still, Worsley and Marshall exhibit wonderful chemistry onstage, made more obvious during the brief moments of stand-up comedy between scenes, where they openly offer an insight into their sincere relationship as boy and girl, inviting the audience to get to know them a little better.

With very little to rely on other than dialogue and imagination, the show depends heavily on delivery and, in this respect, it does not disappoint. Marshall demonstrates admirable adaptability from scene to scene, moving between childlike and mature characters with ease. Her ability to slip between Britain’s myriad accents at a moment’s notice is also impressive and her comic timing is on-point, with her comfort on stage helping to engage the audience even further. Worsley also displays great skill, with his multitude of facial expressions adding another element of humour and enjoyment to the performance.

A fun, fast-paced and engaging show, Boys & Girls will keep you on your toes, entertaining you with an hour of comedy that we can all relate to.                              

Rasha Barazi

Boys & Girls is on at the Tristan Bates Theatre from 10^th August to 15^th August 2015, for further information or to book visit here.