Ginger and Black

Pleasance Courtyard    5 - 31 August @ 18.00   

This show at the intimate Pleasance Hut on Drummond Street could not be considered a musical, but rather a comedy duo consisting of a series of short mini-sketches and jokes, with a few tinkling keyboard notes for extra effect. The loose period setting refers a lot to wartime Britain, but the surreal series of characters Ginger & Black play could just as easily be set anywhere at any time.

The show title refers to the attractive duo of flame-haired comedienne (Ginger) and tall handsome black performer (Black). Real names Eri Jackson and Daniel Taylor. With good comic timing they extract bursts of laughter from the audience, but I had an uneasy feeling during the forty-five minute performance: I’m not quite certain why - perhaps it was the performer’s formula of picking out members of the audience for derision, or the apparent smugness and self-satisfaction of Ginger and Black themselves - which may have been deliberate to add to the comedy. In any event, my lack of enjoyment was a minority experience; the performance I attended was packed out, and had a highly responsive audience.