The Awkward Silence are a comedy duo made up of two stylishly dressed gentlemen, Ralph Jones and Vyvyan Almond. Their new sketch show, Enter The Vortex, is 60 minutes of break-neck pace skits, all nested into each other to form an absurd fantasy.
We begin with an old man reminiscing on his death bed about the time that he heckled The Awkward Silence at the fringe, before cutting to the same old man, now sat in the audience, heckling the show. At this point we are off to the races; each scenario presented has sort of similar structure. The duo set the stage for some sort of absurdity, subvert expectations then create a shout-back to a previous skit.
This vortex of humour is incredibly compelling, the ryhythm and pace of the show makes it impossible to look away and you’re unlikely to be board. The show has less of a fourth wall and more of revolving door; it’s consistently referring to itself. Various characters from different sketches collide as the ‘vortex’ gets stronger, and jokes and ideas smash itself.
This is a very clever premise; The Awkward Silence are incredibly talented. However the ambition of the idea over-reaches the ability of the small venue; they are so many blink and you’ll miss it gags that you will miss something and get a little lost in the vortex.
Enter The Vortex is a show that needs/ deserves a better budget or a different format; TV needs more sketch comedy after all. However stuck in it’s tiny portacabin venue it fails to really fulfil it’s potential and that’s not the fault of the performers; the vortex is simply to big and strong for it’s tiny budget and venue.
It is very well positioned in terms of time and location on the Edinburgh Fringe schedule, so if you’re looking to squeeze in one more show, we recommend this one.
