The concept of combining beatboxing with sketch comedy is already a profound enough feat in itself and, upon entering the M&D Room, some funky amateur beats set the mood of being ready to be impressed for the next hour. A table with a ‘2 Mouthed Men’ poster was spot-lit, leaving no doubt as to whose production we were here to see. The lights were raised to reveal the unexpected: sock puppets.
The sketch opened on the twist of one of the pair of actors not being under the table with his partner. The grand reveal of a housemate as the imposter was met with uproarious applause as the show finally commenced with a jungle soundscape. What started off as the cooing of wildlife resorted to “jungle sounds”, something continued into the second soundscape in a sketch involving a stethoscope. A volunteer from the audience was called upon to have a stethoscope placed on various parts of his body. With basic beats from the chest, wrist and neck, phrases like “oh my” from the thighs and “this doctor is kind of cute” from the head were announced by Daniel in the audience, leaving the onlookers in stitches.
Further audience participation had an audience member sat in a chair on stage, with James adopting a smooth American drawl to narrate, what turned out to be, a game of pass the parcel. From being approached from behind with a razor blade to an Easter egg as a prize being replaced by an original 2MM signed carrot, this game of pass the parcel was unlike any I had ever witnessed and was one that should definitely be cracked out at every party. The 2MM Quiz Show featured rounds such as the ‘dyslexia round’, and the hilarious coincidence of one of the contestants guessing the duo’s favourite shape as the obscure dodecahedron! A lightning round – a flash of lights – and a two second switch round culminated in yet another funky final song with insane beatboxing.
A delightful comedy double act which fundamentally consisted of two lads having unprecedented fun onstage
A section which can only be described as ‘guitar steps’ had Daniel walking around the stage, with each footfall being met by James on the guitar. The musical duo also allowed us to be privy to several original 2MM songs, ‘The Little Things in Life’ being Daniel’s attempt at a positive and joyful ditty which was consistently undermined by James’ hilariously dark-humoured interceptions. Comedic exasperation from Daniel and James’ smug self-satisfaction had the audience in hysterics. The jokey rapport between the two was further established in a song about housemates. From qualms about crumby butter, to stacked up washing, overflowing bins, and leaving keys in the door, a fully relatable rant through the medium of song graced the stage.
Particularly relatable for Exeter students, if not students in general, the song “The Things You Do When You’re Wasted” heralded cheesy chips on a night out and the old faithful of professing your undying love to a mate when you’re completely smashed. Slating banter continued with Daniel ordering James off-stage to commence his own stand-up comedy with jokes from a flashcard. The jokes were delivered with self-deprecating seriousness which nevertheless elicited what James informed Daniel were “pity laughs”. The audience were also treated to 2MM’s very own ‘beat soufflé’ from their ‘Great British Beat-Off’. This consisted of being informed of the basic ingredients in a beat: a ‘kick drum’, ‘high hat’, ‘inward k’, ‘base’, and ‘scratching’ were all set in the oven at 120… “beats per minute”.
2 Mouthed Men proved to be a delightful comedy double act which fundamentally consisted of two lads having unprecedented fun onstage, and featured a special guest star, namely, a smoke machine. The rapport between the two actors was palpably one of long-term friends who can simultaneously rip into each other whilst being supportive of one another, and their energy and enthusiasm was nothing if not infectious. Catch them at the Edinburgh Fringe from the 20th – 25th of August this year!
