Domestic Goddi 2: How to Cope

At times, you’ve got to really question the true intentions of female sketch comedy duos, especially when you see Wilkinson and co-star Helen O’Brien’s latest offering. They’re not so much comedians that can act well, but actresses capable of dragging the occasional laugh out of an audience.

Jokes that are well-conceived on paper translate awkwardly onstage, most notably in a routine which sees two housewives converse in what can only be described as Yorkshire Ebonics (they are, it would seem, very fond of doing Yorkshire accents; it’s their second favourite, right after doing posh ones). Further, the duo’s fixation on mocking the middle and upper-classes rapidly wears thin. Not that there’s anything wrong with laughing at poshos, rather that it’s been done to death by previous Fringe acts French & Saunders and Watson & Oliver – and in pointing out the lazy drawl of public school girls (oh, but they do a great accent, do Wilkinson and O’Brien) the Goddi are re-treading some already well-worn ground.

This isn’t to say that the duo’s work is completely without humour – the brief audio interludes that play during costume changes are gems of stand-alone comedy and Domestic Goddi’s success last year is a testimony to their ability to entertain. Nonetheless, each new Fringe demands that performers rise to the challenge of another year of fresh material. Somehow, over-achieving mums, the pseudo-science speak of the beauty industry and Manolo Blahnik jokes just don’t cut it.