Annie and Lena are moving house because they are Different Now and want a change – and they need to use all those food delivery service boxes that piled up during lockdown.
As they make food delivery service jokes feel far fresher than the delivered food, Lena Moon and Annie Lumsden continue to develop their version of sketch comedy. This is their third live show, and they keep proving that the synergy of a partnership creates layers of complexity that can’t be achieved with a generic recipe.
Wearing short black rompers, Annie is a bit self-involved, Lena is dealing with her ADHD need to be constantly stimulated, and both know that they are different after the last couple of years. We all are, aren’t we? More mature, reflective, and accepting of aging and things we can’t change?
Yeah. Sure!
Lena is at least blonde now, and Annie might even admit that she’s 32 but being locked down for a couple of years hasn’t changed much. Women in their 30s still can’t make decisions, blokes still fake incompetence to hide laziness, and no matter what you do someone will always hate you – a song that should become a performer warm-up when critics are in the audience.
Seamlessly switching from sketch to stage characters, Different Now is far more than jokes about being in your 30s. It’s about being friends and balancing honesty and support, understanding that you don’t grow up when you become an adult, and asking your audience if your embarrassing life experiences are funny or depressing.
Annie and Lena deconstruct sketch tropes and make them their own. They reflect their lives and generation, but their work is supported by a much larger questioning of the world – especially about being a woman in our world – that reaches out honestly and widely.
Their vague and ditzy millennial characters can only be this hilarious because they’re honed with keen intelligence and insight. Sure, life can be depressing and embarrassing, but when we realise we have more in common than we expect, laughing together makes it all so much better.
Annie and Lena are the next generation of duo sketch comedy.