The Silky Pair: Happy to Help (plus special guests)

Essex girls Kathryn Bond and Lorna Shaw are the proprietors of a bespoke sketch shop, hawking their wares to a very receptive audience. That is to say, at the end of each sketch they deconstruct what they’ve just performed and offer the contents (hand gestures included) to the highest bidder. It’s a clever and amusing twist on the sketch genre and the crowd is on-board from the off.

Bond and Shaw have boundless amounts of energy as they seamlessly transition between brilliantly written sketches and delightful musical numbers. On the rare occasion the audience isn’t laughing it’s rescued by the sheer likeability of the performers. There’s also a great chemistry between this bright pair, who both possess terrific comic timing, a gift for physical comedy and, Bond in particular, some very funny facial expressions.

The wonderful finale to this most entertaining afternoon involves fellow female sketch group Vinegar Knickers who, performing a retail rap battle, almost steal the show from right under The Silky Pair. This is definitely one of the most enjoyable shows out there, it’s chock full of great gags and when the time comes to leave this little shop of sketches, your face will be sore from smiling.