JaruJaru presents Arigato, a completely individual and different comedy form. Having had success globally and online I had hoped it would be a hit.
The show is based around a master and his teacher as they create pieces of woodwork and art. Both using different techniques the master teaches the student all he knows. All set to upbeat dance music. When the learning is over they try to auction off their work for thousands of pounds.
At the start I thought it was a funny sketch to begin the show but as the same piece continued throughout I realised this sketch would be all we were getting. It would go back and forth to the building and the auction with minimal changes and it lost any sense of hilarity after the first ten minutes. I struggled to really understand the concept and only found it funny when it seemed absolutely ridiculous that this same sequence of building chairs and tables then trying to sell them was still going on.
Perhaps it was a cultural difference I didn’t quite understand but it felt like the bewilderment I had for the show was shared with a fair bit of the audience. If there had been a range of different sketches it would have worked so much better in terms of keeping audience engaged.
In fairness to the company there are QR codes and surveys to fill out when leaving the show to leave our opinions and what we enjoyed or dislike about the show. So perhaps this show is to test the waters and they are trying to find what works and what doesn’t. However if that is the case perhaps it might be better to follow suit with other work in progress shows and lower the ticket prices and then have an option to give the act extra money at the end if the audience enjoys it.
Assembly Roxy – Downstairs
20:40
Aug 22-27
