EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW Reviews: GAMARJOBAT: BOXER, Gilded Balloon, August 3 2014

Japanese duo Gamarjobat return to the Fringe this year to celebrate a decade since their Edinburgh breakthrough with Boxer. The pair use mime and physical comedy to great effect and the first twenty minutes of the show are a fast-paced mixture of clowning sketches, with latecomers harangued in inimitable style while the rest of the audience chuckle along. Some of this introductory tomfoolery is straight out of pantomime with "which side can cheer the loudest?", but it's invariably endearing nevertheless.

After warming up the audience, they launch into the main part of the show, "Boxer". Playing every role themselves, they use mime and a great soundtrack to tell a Rocky-esque story of a down on his luck boxer who is lured back into the ring in order to win the hand of the girl he has fallen in love with. It's at times both poignant and hilarious, and a showcase for Gamarjobat's exceptional mime skills.

Highly accessible to audiences and largely family friendly (a few visual gags about the two male performers comparing their respective sizes aside), Boxer is very engaging, evocatively performed, and offers a well-told story, all of which will have you happily laughing along for an hour.

Gamarjobat: Boxer runs August 4th, 6th-11th, 13th-18th and 20th-25th at the Gilded Balloon.

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