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Review: The Oxford Revue & Friends

It is not the chummy benevolence of ‘friend­ship’ which triumphs at this production. The stage bathes in a poignant whiff of rivalry. A rapid turnover of scenes and constant alterna­tion between the Oxford Revue, Durham Revue and Cambridge Footlights forces the audience to draw direct comparisons between them. 

Naz Osmanoglu satisfies his job as host well enough: his additions include merry gibes at the fresher libido and his own ethnicity. A feeling of familiarity crests during a brief foray into Mac­Intyre-style gruff and although the stand-up is unoriginal in itself, his genial energy makes for a cosy performance. 

The first hour gained the audience’s approval in a sluggish and piecemeal way. A lack of chem­istry between cast members in larger scenes saw the Durham Revue crawling slowly away from the starting line, wounded by a trite reference to ‘Voldemort’ and a tiresome ‘Santa-isn’t-real’ routine. A whimsical gag named ‘Boris’ is suc­cessful, but the script stops short of pushing it away from the brink. A quick-witted exchange between an expressionless duo was the most popular Durham effort, but this was thanks to the script rather than the unchallenging deliv­ery.

Cambridge Footlights began with an uncrea­tive stab at the racism of the elderly, but an im­provement came with their second attempt. Taylor’s spry discourse featured a brilliantly im­provised interaction with the audience (“some­one is clapping my masturbatory habits…”), drumming up a well-deserved response.

Reprieve from the rigidity of group scenes was delivered with gusto by the Oxford Revue. Dowie’s plucky delivery of a not-wholly-inspiring ‘minge’ line is to be applauded. But her cheeky skill is superseded by the more subtle concentra­tion of David Meredith, who is able to command the whole theatre’s attention with a small, delib­erate movement.

The Durham troupe gained traction as we moved into the second half of the show, but they were eclipsed by the real struggle for pre-eminence between the Oxford Revue and Cam­bridge Footlights. A balance was struck: the spir­ited and agile performance of the Revue meant they banked the trophy for best delivery, but Footlights triumphed in terms of script. They reached their zenith with a hilarious anthropo­morphisation of chess.

 A word of praise to finish: some of us have come to expect tedious taunts at ‘the bourgeois mentality’ or boring renditions of #UniLife as part and parcel of student comedy, but Oxford Re­vue & Friends is fresher than that. More impres­sively, there is a welcome lack of the self-congrat­ulatory arrogance that has been known to grace student stages. This is an earnest competition.

THREE STARS

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