A water-addicted alcoholic, a Peruvian pan flute player and a boy named Tennis (actually Dennis, but he’s the only person who makes d/t mistakes at the beginning of words). This is a small selection of the colorful procession of characters that Kamagurka (65) and Herr Seele (62) stage in a performance full of absurdist sketches. At the bakery, Kamagurka (pseudonym of Luc Zeebroek) asks for dry bread. There is, but unfortunately it rained this morning. Herr Seele (Peter van Heirseele) tips: kick it dry on the back of the bike. He hands Kamagurka the soaking wet piece of ‘dry’ bread.
That is the humor of the two Flemish friends. Since the eighties they have worked together a lot: television and radio programs, and they still make the popular comic series Cowboy Henk† They also often appeared on stage together, but that was already seventeen years ago. In The return of the comeback turns out the fun and chemistry is still intact.
The result is an entertaining performance consisting of a series of separate sketches. Every now and then Kamagurka refers to what is yet to come: „We are going to Paris soon!” His companion is probably hoisting himself behind the folding screen in different clothes at that moment, the performance is a true costume party. Baker, doctor, Parisian: the duo makes a sport of dressing their characters as caricatured as possible.
filling cavities
There is much to laugh about, but the performance is not always successful: the line between absurdism and farce sometimes appears thin. A skit in which an abstract play is played is exciting because of a nice find: the play is already performed during the first script reading, so the characters did not have time to learn the text. It results in a hilariously staged improvisation.
Less exciting are the many literal versions of proverbs and sayings: Herr Seele who comes out of a closet, Kamagurka who falls straight into the house, ‘falling out of the roll’ in three different ways. In addition, puns such as about platform soles (Herr Seele with a bundle of books by Plato at his foot) are sometimes fun, but they become irritating in the long run: with frequent use the suggestion is created that some holes still had to be filled.
That is not necessary at all, because Kamagurka and Herr Seele have plenty to offer. The ballet performance of the dying swan by Herr Seele is comical. This one goes haywire after the dancing swan gets distracted by a Kamagurka sprinkled with breadcrumbs. The return of the comeback is a worship to absurdism: no opinions and current affairs, just a lot of nonsense.