**** Talented actors turn their hand to comedy
Martin Marquez is a remarkable actor, and his brother John is no slouch. I didn't expect to see them as a comedy double act, but it works.
Their hour-long show is intelligently put together as a series of sketches in which pairs of characters offer perspectives on different views of what it is to be and to behave like man: a flamenco double act, a temperamental footballer and his blunt manager, a couple of country yokels in the big city. The thread of narrative which runs through the collection is of the build-up to and aftermath of a football club disco.
The older, burlier Martin tends to take the "alpha male" roles, while John tends towards insecure, flightier characters, such as the sensitive soccer player in the kitchen, punishing a pot that didn't boil by making it stand in the corner. Although included in the Comedy section of the Fringe programme, and containing laughs aplenty, this is more than mere throwaway entertainment. The brothers clearly wanted to put together a show with a point, and they succeed in being illuminating as well as amusing.
Written for divento.com
Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.
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