The Second City
Convention & Exhibition Centre
Take a wok, throw in some Mid-Western, South American and European condiments, blend with some North American humour and what do you get? The Second City, billed as 'the longest running and best comedy/improv troupe in the world'.
'Longest running' is true, 'best' certainly isn't and the improvisational bit is debatable, considering most of the material is scripted.
After a second-night opening half with no local flavour apart from a dig at (American) Miracle Foot Repair cream TV ads, Chicago's finest made amends with cracks at HSBC, mobile-phone users and dim sum ('monkey brains').
But those (admittedly highly amusing) sideswipes were rare beacons of invention on a menu of here's-some-we-prepared-earlier jokes with stereotypical targets: the Latin American dictator; the country girl in tassled jacket and her gormless city counterparts; Italian fashion models; and, it seemed, some Jewish immigrants, although their accents were dubious. At least the two-man, two-woman team had the good taste to send up the Germans. And it mocked its own origins, showing an American diplomat kissing a Noriega-esque ass (spot the age of that gag) and summing up US citizens with Sarah Gee screaming: 'I'm loud and obnoxious and I'd like to take pictures - smile!'
