The Paradise Palms
Thursday 23rd October
On thursday evening a student comedy group performed F-Holes, a free thirty-minute show at Paradise Palms, just opposite Bristo Square. Before the show started the audience could order drinks at the bar right next to the stage, and together with the tunes of Django Reinhardt, the atmosphere was rather relaxed.
The show started with an energetic scene in which both the actors and the musicians convinced us of their potential. Thereafter followed numerous sketches which shed light on everyday situations in today’s society. The actors performed with obvious joy and charisma and the musicians contributed with steady instrumental elements. These two features worked well together and made for an enjoyable opening.
Sadly many of the sketches were a bit too obvious, so the punchlines faded out and were not as strong as they could have been. You sometimes felt like you’d seen some of the sketches before, however, at times there were small twists which made them feel a little more original. In addition to comic scenes created by audience participation, there were some hilarious scenes and puns. The highlight of the show must have been the occasional intervals where the musicians polyphonically sung sex education themed songs.
Since part of the venue was used as a regular bar, unfortunately the show was constantly interrupted by the other guests and surprisingly loud noises from the bar. This was clearly not the actors’ fault, but it really affected the overall impression. You had to fully concentrate to actually hear the lines spoken onstage.
All in all this show was successful, but the sketches did not include as many surprising elements as one would hope. Still, the group showed a lot of potential, and if they had overstated their punchlines less often, the sketches would have appeared more clever overall.