Thursday 16 August 2012

Mace and Burton: Rom Com Con ****

Another show I'd heard a lot about was Rom Com Con! A very inventive show by comedy pairing Mace and Burton.

The idea is that the two single girls studied all the top grossing romantic comedies and recorded how the couples in each film first met. They then went out and tried to meet real men by employing the same techniques as the characters in the films.

As their show blurb says "Join them in this utterly true story as they try talking to coma patients (While You Were Sleeping), standing on street corners (Pretty Woman) and dating a guy whose paddling pool they used to play in (Bridget Jones’s Diary) - all to find The One. Can rom coms help us find true love? Or are they all one big con?"

Well I won't spoil the ending, but they actually did go out and try to replicate a lot of movies and they have the photos and film to prove it!

This is an engaging hour of storytelling, which is funny. poignant and heartwarming. Just like a real romantic comedy, it leaves you with a smile on your face! Unfortunately I didn't manage to convince my hungover girlfriend to make it along to the show, which was a shame - this is the perfect date show!

What's more - it's free. When you go to lots of free shows the quality can vary dramatically! I can safely say that this is one of the most organised and slick performances I've seen in a free show and it's definitely the best free performance I've seen this year (with the exception of Shaggers which is a compilation of 4-5 acts every night so can't be compared to this).

Mace and Burton have come up with a great show that has lots of potential and could easily be transferred to TV. My only criticism is that the show does have a fairly tight format and the performers stick to a script fairly rigidly. When they do have the odd off script aside then their personalities come out a bit more and if they could find a way to get their personalities out there a more often then they could turn a four star show into a five star show! But that's a small piece of constructive criticism and you shouldn't let it put you off going to see a cracking show!

Show info here.

They also have another show called Heartbreak Hotel which  have not seen.

2 comments:

Lucy Leeming said...

Hello Colin,

My name is Lucy Leeming and I have read a number of your festival reviews on your blog. If you would like a break from comedy, I would love it if you could find time in your busy schedule to come and see our show, 'A Dreamer' at 5:45pm @Cafe Camino until the 24th as part of PBH Free Fringe.
It is based on a short story by Barbara Baynton 'A Dreamer', written in 1890. It is a beautifully written story. We also have live original Australian music which opens the show. I saw in one of your reviews you are a music fan and like hearing traditional music from around the world, so hopefully you will enjoy Todd's song writing, guitar and didgeridoo playing.
We have performed a season in Australia where we received this review.
"It's as gripping as any contemporary thriller." ****-John Baily, the Sunday Age
Cafe Camino is a new venue in this years fringe. Everyone who has seen the show has given us wonderful feedback but it would be fantastic to get a review and hopefully let more people know about this new venue.
Please let me know if you would like anymore information.
Thank you for your time,

Lucy Leeming
lucyleeming_101@hotmail.com
'A Dreamer'
Cafe Camino, 1 Little King Street
8-24th Aug @ 5:45pm
act.org.au

Alice said...

I couldn't agree more, Colin. This has got to have been one of my favourite shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. It's funny because me and my girl friends have had this conversation more than once, and speculated trying something similar but it's the first time I've seen a comedy piece about it (serious gap in the market - or I've just been walking around with my eyes and ears closed!). It was the first time I've visited the Fringe, too. A few of us were staying in an Edinburgh serviced apartment because we live in London, but I will definitely be attending next year. I only wish I could have stayed longer, but unfortunately had to come back to work :(