AVOCADO PRESENTS at the Hen and Chickens Theatre

★★★

“there’s a soulful melancholic undertone to many of the characters”

Avocado Presents is a two-man improv sketch show, pulled entirely from thin air. The two performers, Hamza Mohsin and Jake Migicovsky, begin by pacing around the space, feeling one another’s energy. Once they feel ready, and they’ve placed their two chairs in position, they launch into a sketch. It’s impressive to watch, though the results are a little mixed. It’s surprising that this duo has been working together for several years; their energy is not entirely in synch and they seem to lack the enthusiastic zeal for the game which characterises so many improv shows.

Mohsin’s comedy comes from a long and silent stare – it’s all in his facial expressions. At times this means he’s hilarious, but it clearly makes it hard for Migicovsky to improvise with. There are several moments where Migicovsky is working really hard to get a comic bit going, and is shut down by Mohsin’s energy. Both men are funny, and they both get a solid laugh over the hour, but there’s a lack of teamwork at times, which is surprising for a show like this.

The sketches are oddly poignant. We leave with questions about modern day masculinity, and what it means to be a man in 2023. A divorced father gives advice to his teenage son – offering him cigarettes and encouraging him to throw the first punch at anyone who side eyes him. In court mandated therapy a young man questions his arson charge, and attacks his therapist for being a future version of himself. A divorce lawyer comes to terms with the fact everyone thinks he’s a creep. Obviously, these sketches are different every day, but there’s a soulful melancholic undertone to many of the characters, which is fascinating, if not exactly funny.

The best bits are when the duo let themselves go and get really silly with it. A strip tease to remove a shoe – a long mimed struggle with a leather jacket – an unexpected proposal, where the bride has brought her own ring. These are moments where the performers shine, and the show really takes off. They’re just a little few and far between.

Avocado Presents is more complicated than a typical improv show, which sometimes works in its favour, and sometimes drags it down. There’s an awkwardness, and a weirdness to it, which is both uncomfortable and strangely arresting. The duo is everywhere, and if you like your improv with a side of peculiar but thoughtful character analysis, it’s worth catching this show.

Avocado Presents

★★★

Hen and Chickens Theatre

AVOCADO PRESENTS at the Hen and Chickens Theatre

★★★

“there’s a soulful melancholic undertone to many of the characters”