Comedy

In their second Fringe excursion, Jollie (a fusion of John and Ollie) commandeer Underbelly’s stage as a preparation for something much greater. 

The pair explain that after toiling away on Britain’s lamentable story and song circuit for too long, they’ve finally hit the big time. They’ve been invited to perform at the prestigious European Festival of Storytelling and Song in Warsaw.
 
Obviously, then, the Fringe is a mere warm-up, and their fizzling chemistry is injected into a ‘rehearsal’ presentation of songs, sketches and a low-budget slideshow about our European cousins. We find out what really happened at that football game in no-man’s land, and that Ollie wants to use vampire stories for some rather un-PC metaphors.
 
Jollie are a refreshingly complex double act. Like a hand in a snug rubber glove, it’s a perfect fit, but not without friction. Lacing their friendship is the awkward fact that Ollie used to go out with Amy, now John’s wife. This succulent underlying tension spills over into subtle put-downs, erratic artistic decisions and bickering over how to stage their masterpiece.
 
They generally avoid the all-out European stereotypes, in favour of latching onto a single word or story and giving it a ridiculous rewrite, creating silly songs and surreal sketches galore. From John’s deadpan declarations of their struggle for artistic integrity to Ollie’s melodramatic script additions, 'Abreast of Culture' is an fabulously animated and creative hour.
 
The real John and Ollie could continue to develop their material further, but their believable intimacy shines on stage, resulting in a mini-drama of friendship that is as magnificent as it is shambolic.
 
Jolie: Abreast of Culture is at Underbelly, until 30 August, 18:55 .