An early run-out for Soft Play’s upcoming Edinburgh Fringe debut, Just The Two Of Us! focuses on that most basic and fundamental comedy relationship, the double act.
However, while Maria Telnikoff and Vidya Divakaran play several iconic duos in their peppily knockabout hour, from the graphic depiction of Romulus and Remus with which they introduce the concept, to a bewigged Wham!, their sketchy historical overview is overwhelmingly scattergun and ironic. There’s much more effort and deliberately tortured punning expounded on portraying two peas in a pod for instance, than in a relatively restrained, adolescent melodrama depiction of Jesus and Judas.
With constant recourse to music, be it sung or mimed, the clownish fever dream and children’s birthday party quality of Just The Two Of Us! is borne on a seemingly endless array of costumes and devotion to dancing, deceptively well choreographed, tandemic hoofing through a repertoire of showtunes and pop hits. Too often perhaps, they literally dance their way out of a skit in lieu of a punchline. Yet over the whole, it powers the hour with a giddy, demented energy.
Tensions and bonds are tried and tested in various pairings over the course of human civilisation. But it’s pretty pacy, light and abundantly silly stuff. Some of the sibling relationships have darker, maybe even incestuous undersides. Yet Telnikoff and Divakaran trust their audience’s intelligence enough to keep feminist and queer inflexions subtextual, except when they’re going for outright spoofery.
Indeed, Just The Two Of Us!‘s highlight is an affectionate pisstake of the film Bend It Like Beckham. Seemingly belonging to another show entirely – such is the sustained, multi-act narrative with which it closes the show, in stark contrast to the quick-hit, romp-through sketches that have gone before – Gurinder Chadha’s early 2000s comedy doesn’t exactly fare well from Soft Play mercilessly highlighting its broad, sometimes cloddish handling of sexuality, female empowerment and race.
But there’s abundant love in the parody, with Telnikoff and Divakaran typically drawn to warmth and tenderness in their mockery rather than spikiness. They foreground the unbreakable connection of a mismatched singing duo amidst the bearpit judgement of The X-Factor, while their trendy GCSE guide to Of Mice And Men at least retains the mercy of the mercy killing despite their goofily patronising yoof presentation.
The eclecticism of their references can be bewildering. Certainly, I didn’t perceive much crossover in the audience’s awareness of Andrew Ridgeley, Tracey Beaker and a plot point about discarded cheese from the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. And as a middle-aged man, I only hazily recognised some of the contemporary tunes, doubtless missing many jokes in the process.
But the overstimulated, mix ‘n’ match nature of Soft Play is a significant part of what makes them a fun, compelling pairing. There’s currently a fair bit in this show that could do with tightening up and refining before it makes its Edinburgh bow. Still, the core chemistry makes for a double act of real appeal.
Tors until 24 August 2025 | Image: Contributed
The Reviews Hub Score
Clownish fever dream
