Little Lark of London

What happens when you take two children’s entertainers with wildly different styles and put them together in a Russian oligarch’s home for the 6-year-old daughter Anastasia’s birthday? Chaos. Ed MacArthur and Kiell Smith-Bynoe star as String and Spitta, two comedians in London who are competing to be the king of children’s entertainment in the city. String comes from a wealthy background and focuses on more classical entertainment like magic tricks, while Spitta comes from a working-class background and is changing the world of children’s entertainment with his improvisation and other activities. 

MacArthur does a fantastic job in playing String with both his dedication to discipline and his love for the craft shining through. It’s fun to see him get more and more into Spitta’s style of entertainment! I adored Smith-Bynoe’s quick rhymes and how he works to keep Spitta enthusiastic for the kids while also letting some of the entertainer’s exhaustion and frustration and the situation show. I loved when he would begin flirting with Anastasia’s mother, the lights turning pink before String quickly shut things down (there is a payoff at the end and it is truly glorious to behold). Both performers are incredibly talented and it’s fun to see them work together, even when their characters are competing. 

String V SPITTA is at its best when it really leans into the birthday party aspect of the show, with String and Spitta going into the audience and having them sing along to songs like they are children attending Anastasia’s birthday party. Unfortunately, the show begins to unravel at times when going into more serious scenes. It was interesting to see how the backgrounds of the entertainers influenced their style of performance, but it clashed with the silliness of the birthday party. It may have been more effective to have the beginning be outside of the party with a sharp change to the celebration halfway into the show, giving a good sense of contrast that is effectively jarring. Some of the songs can also grow quite repetitive and go on for a while, but I assume that this is part of making it similar to a children’s show with its repetitive lyrics and long songs.

Ultimately, String V SPITTA is entertaining and does an excellent job contrasting two styles of performance, but I would have liked to see more focus on the particular birthday party that both performers were attending.

String V SPITTA runs at Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance Above at 20:00 from 24 to 26 August.