The set has two wooden fold-up chairs, a fold-up table, a jug of water, two glasses; Shut Up by The Black Eyed Peas plays over. This seems to be the premise of the relationship of the two performers: confrontational, impudent and prepared to pack up and leave at any moment.

Mr & Mrs are real-life husband-and-wife Aaron Counter and Liz Stephens: stand-up comedians now trying to work as a couple as well as rivals in an already merciless industry. The show is apparently the first time they have written something together, and they openly discuss their relationship in scripted, non-improvised form.

Mr & Mrs has the form of counselling session for couple - the performers are the couple; a pyschologist asks questions in voice-over. Liz Stephens and Aaron Counter sit side-by-side and explain how they got together. Playful - or perhaps measured and hurtful - insults fire constantly in both directions. The wife says how she thought her husband was gay when she first met him, and for some time after. He acts shocked and says how virile he actually is - 'Look how far apart my knees are - that's fucking manly'.

She has a black dress with a wide, elasticated belt round her waist and black high heels; he wears blue jeans, trainers and a brown short-sleeved shirt. It adds a note of visual contrast to the performance. They say they do not see each other often - just once a week, and that this works for them and their relationship. Some funny observations reveal more of their life together. They say that - at the start - they did not like each others' work for quite a while. She: 'I couldn't have married Aaron if I didn't respect him professionally.' He: 'I couldn't have married Liz if she didn't respect me professionally.'

More jibes follow both ways about their professional and personal performance. They insult each others' parents; they are quietly jealous of each others' success - it is funny to witness what they think of each other, or what they want people to think they think of each other. They discuss the effect of stand-up on their relationship, and reflect on a longing for more attention from the opposite sex before they got together. A laugh-out-loud moment, from a purely observational perspective, is when they discuss driving. She replies to something he says by saying 'I can drive'. He replies, 'You're legally allowed to drive.' She says that she does not want or like children, especially babies, comparing them to free newspapers: how men always want to give them to her, but there is nowhere to put them. The shrink says 'If you don't want kids, why did you get married?' 'I don't know' says the husband.

Mr & Mrs is an insight - real or embellished - into a married couple's life. It's an interesting place to view from the outside for a while. But as the performers came on stage wearing their respective outfits, they seem an unlikely couple. Perhaps this is intentional, to reinforce how much they have grown apart - and therefore justifying the show's format as a counselling session. But even with Liz Stephens continuously repeating that they are actually married in real life and did not get married for the show, it feels implausible. They both seem quite nervous, unsure of one another, disconnected.

Small points distract. The wife gets up from her chair, gets a drink of water, stands briefly, sits down again - it feels unnecessary and diverts attention; as against (if needed) a full glass within reach. (Having said that, the husband does the same later but with an exaggerated pouring into the glass from a height, which comes across as funny.) There is a constant dimming of the lights to signify a new part of the story. Again it seems unnecessary and is so fleeting that instead of feeling deliberate, it feels more like something wrong with the lights.

Perhaps because Liz Stephens and Aaron Counter have written and rehearsed Mr & Mrs together they have lost something in the process. A relationship and connection seems visible sometimes when they speak for one another or share private expressions. There's a sense that they are well-matched as a couple and complement each other. Unfortunately, it is a stretch to believe them on stage. Perhaps they have focused on the words and forgotten the connection. Perhaps they have rehearsed out the love.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Aaron Counter - Performer. Liz Stephens - Performer.

Company Credits: Writers - Aaron Counter & Liz Stephens. Directors - Aaron Counter & Liz Stephens. Lighting Designer - uncredited. Sound Designer - uncredited. Technical Operator - uncredited. Stage Manager - Katinka Brose. Front of House - Stevie Boreham. Photographer - Adam Ethan Crowe. Producers - Aaron Counter & Liz Stephens. Company - Counter Productives.

END

(c) Chantal Pierre-Packer 2009

reviewed Monday 17 August 2009 / Etcetera Theatre

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com