Originally published by L.S. Media. January 15th 2011.
Cast: Matt Rutter, Tim Lynskey.
It takes two brave men to create the genuinely superb insanity that is portrayed on stage in the form of The Friendship Experiment. From the moment Matt Rutter and Tim Lynskey bound on stage, the audience is in for over an hour of mayhem which will lead them down several rabbit holes and coming out the other side asking “what the hell just happened”.
One of the delightful things about this kind of theatre is that it doesn’t hold any expectations, it is literally what you see is what you get, in this case two actors/comedians who have blurred the lines between improvised comedy and innovative scene stealing. Having honed their talent at the Edinburgh Fringe the guys bring their latest show to the Unity Theatre with the kind of interest that used to be reserved for the likes of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and the Python team.
The duo are on stage for roughly seventy minutes but it will seem like just a couple as they go through characters at breakneck speed and from their humble premise of two old friends “from way back when” getting in touch with each other after a fall out to the carnage and riotousness that follows.
Throughout The Friendship Experiment, the two men show exactly what can be achieved when imagination is allowed to run free and unfettered. Both Matt Rutter and Tim Lynskey deserve the plaudits they have built up over the time and a great hope for British theatrical comedy.
Original comedy doesn’t come much better than this, exciting, supremely brilliant and just a little bit crackers.
The Friendship Experiment is on at the Unity Theatre till the 29th January.
Ian D. Hall