Hammer & Tongs have been dealt a hell of a bad opening hand. Their time slot and location equates to a dingy back room of a bar, directly behind a very enthusiastic DJ out front (and the after-hours socialites are just as unforgiving). While this sort of thing is well beyond their control, it's incredibly difficult to give Goin' At It the full and uninterrupted attention it deserves.
The pair of Kimberly Lisle and Tessa Ryan are both accomplished and hilarious standups in their own right. Both coming from comedic backgrounds that often centre on LGBTIA+ and feminist material, Hammer & Tongs are a perfect pairing for some socially conscious and progressive sketches, but the two tend to shy away from that in favour of the slightly more surreal. That's not to say that this is an invalid use of their talents - the character of Mama Drip, for example, is a wicked and obscure highlight - but it does often feel as if Lisle and Ryan are capable of a little more. On top of all this, some unresolved tech issues lead to Hammer & Tongs being close to inaudible on a number of occasions, making some of their otherwise great sketch material fizzle out.
It's certainly a disappointment that these uncontrollable matters snowballed into one massive problem for Hammer & Tongs, but if they can get resolved, the show can still rise to excellence. Lisle and Ryan are resilient and hardworking performers, and Goin' At It deserves the same respect that they do.
Hammer & Tongs present Goin' At It till 22 Apr at Loop Project Space, part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
