A review of Flo & Joan: Sweet Release, Fringe 2022

Flo and Joan are a candidate for my Find of the Fringe.

I’d never come across the act before booking them in my first flurry of enthusiastic ticket buying, I couldn’t tell you why I picked them, and by the time their slot in my busy schedule rolled around, I think I would have struggled to tell you which show I was even going to.

So! It is fair to say that I did not have high expectations except that I’ve picked nothing but solid shows this year, and I’d hate to fail with my last half dozen.

I’d never been to the Assembly Roxy before, so as the queue began to move, I felt like I was rolling double or nothing with my Fringe show spread betting.

And it’s a double!

Once the sisters marched in (are they? they seem so different) and started to sing, I was caught! I laughed, I grinned, I was stunned.

This is a musical comedy, but it’s also heartfelt truth. Flo and Joan open their insecurities to you, you might well see yourself reflected, and we laugh along.

I’m in no doubt as to how much courage that takes. I’m also in no doubt as to how clever Sweet Release is. The foreshadowing is impressive. Should either Joan or Flo run out of steam for the hard graft of touring and entertainment, I suspect either could write thrillers. It’s evident that they already write excellent comedy.

The music

The writing is clever and the comedy funny, but what about the music?

Good news, the music is excellent too! I’m not smart enough to tell you the style, but it leans heavily towards the spoken-word-to-music. The video in this review is a fair example.

I don’t mean to give the impression these are jokes told in rhyme. Flo and Joan sing well; you can follow their words and laugh along. The chances of you taking an ear-worm home are high too.

Expect quantity as well as quality. I quickly realised I would love the show, and I did, but I was constantly surprised when the pair found time for another song. This is where the style helps. The musical encounters add to the layers of the story; they’re not just intermissions. Flo and Joan’s timing is spot on, too. You see that with the punch lines, even the physical responses but here, too, with working out when the audience could do with a little more music or when a chat would be a good palate cleanser.

Overall

I hope very much to see Flo and Joan next year, and I suspect they’ll be one of the very first acts in my ticket basket.

The good news is that they’re here until the very end of the festival.