The Anniversary

Not your average elderly couple…

The Anniversary

Australian comedy duo Claire Bartholomew and Daniel Tobias of Die Roten Punkte star in The Anniversary, a show I can only describe as a murderous episode of Pingu, but instead of penguins, it’s Jim and Barb. 

Jim and Barb are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and excitement is certainly in the air; although they wouldn’t tell you that – at least not with words. The Anniversary has no dialogue which is a hard line for performers to walk. The only dialogue the two needed were “Jim” and “Barb”, which is lucky because that is all we got. 

What was supposed to be a very special evening with all of their friends, especially Sue and Cheryl, turned into a bizarre, outlandish murderous event that would have stumped even Hercule Poirot. 

Jim and Barb – I mean Claire and Daniel – are a great team. The two feed off of each other’s energy and you can tell they have been working together for a long time. They bounce off one another actions and are simply a joy to watch. 

If this kind of comedy isn’t your thing however – which I have to say it’s not mine – you may find yourself losing focus a little around the middle. The cure for that? How about making Barb fall through a table? Or spraying the audience with water? Or having a bird on a stick attack the audience? The Anniversary did in fact do all of these things, and although I was thankful to be sitting in one of the back rows, those in front weren’t so lucky. 

That being said, people seemed to genuinely enjoy it, so whatever Jim and Barb were selling, the audience were definitely buying. Despite probably being most people’s first show of the day – The Anniversary wasn’t short of collective hysterical laughter. The funny, if not slightly twisted, dynamic duo know how to work a stage and, because I’m nosy, have some very loyal fans among them. 

The Anniversary is playing at Pleasance Dome (King Dome) every day at 12:00 pm.


For tickets and more information visit edfringe.com

Header Image Credit: Andrew Wuttke

Author

Saskia Calliste

Saskia Calliste Voice Team

Saskia is the Deputy Editor of Voice and has worked on campaigns such as International Women’s Day, Black History Month, and Anti-Bullying Week. Outside of Voice, Saskia is a published author (Hairvolution) and has guest featured in various other publications (The Women Writers’ Handbook/ Cosmopolitan/ The Highlight). She has a BA in Creative Writing and Journalism and an MA in Publishing. She is a mentor for Women of the World Global, has guest lectured at the University of Roehampton and has led seminars/panel talks on Race, Equality and Diversity. She was a 2022 Guest Judge for Dave (TV Channel) in search of the 'Joke of the Fringe'. She is 27-years-old, based in London, and loves to cook and explore new places in her spare time.

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