Kwami Odoom and Jack Henry need help. Kwami is worried he’ll be a bad father, while Jack can’t quite work out how to be gay, sane and sexy at the same time. Two different comedians, two different problems and apparently not a single solution between them.
They need some outside perspective. They need a support group.
They need us.
At least, that’s what the premise suggests.
Kwami Odoom and Jack Henry Support Group started incredibly well and immediately established a fun atmosphere. The concept on paper is also a strong one: two comedians bringing their respective problems to an audience who effectively become their support group.
However, this is where I felt the production didn’t entirely meet its own premise.
The key phrase for me in the show’s description is “outside perspective”. That gave me the impression that we, as the audience, would somehow be helping Kwami and Jack navigate the issues they’re discussing.
In reality, we aren’t really given much opportunity to do that.
There is an opportunity for audience members to submit their own problems, which are then addressed by the comedians during a relatively short section towards the end. Kwami and Jack attempt to offer solutions, naturally with humorous results.
It’s entertaining, but it felt more like an addition to the show than something sitting at the heart of the concept.
Take that element away and what remains is largely a split-bill stand-up comedy show.
Now, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Both Kwami and Jack are funny comedians in their own individual ways, and the performance time is divided relatively equally between them. Their personalities and styles are different enough that each brings something distinctive to the production.
My issue isn’t whether they’re funny – they are.
It’s whether the production currently delivers what Support Group promises.
I also felt both comedians concentrated quite intensely on a relatively small number of subjects within their individual routines. Allowing a little more breathing space for other material could provide greater variety and potentially help maintain the momentum established so successfully at the beginning.
There is also a missed opportunity sitting right in front of them: the audience.
If Kwami and Jack genuinely want an outside perspective, why not let us further into their worlds?
Simple audience polls could work. A secret ballot could be hilarious. Give us choices, ask us questions or let us decide which of them is behaving most irrationally. There are plenty of ways the support-group idea could become an integral part of the production rather than primarily a framing device.
It could also make every performance slightly different depending upon who happens to be sitting in the room that day.
The ingredients are certainly here. You have two funny comedians, two contrasting personalities and a premise which lends itself naturally to audience participation.
At present, however, those ingredients don’t quite come together in the way I expected.
Kwami Odoom and Jack Henry Support Group is funny and enjoyable as a split-bill comedy show. But if you’re going to call us your support group, you’ve got to let us do some supporting.
They asked for outside perspective.
Mine is: let the audience in.
★★★ Two funny comedians in search of a stronger support group.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/kwami-odoom-and-jack-henry-support-group
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