The Last Stand to Reason is a piece so inventive that it almost defies description. We (our imaginations are engaged so thoroughly that we feel we are there) are aboard a train, the Stanton Bullet, peopled with eccentric characters, young and old, white and black, male and female, American and foreign. With just a slight shift of body posture or vocal intonation, Chavez and Allen morph frequently and seamlessly from one role to another, as the characters’ stories are intercut with time jumps to create a narrative of sorts. The delineations are so acute that we instantly recognise each person - including the creepy train manager, a French spy, a ghostly girl and two lechy men - before they even speak.
Most of the jokes (and there are many) are quickfire - “I’m reading a book called ‘The Cowboy Who Came in From the Rain.... and Then Fucked Somebody’,” says Chavez as a middle-aged matron, to which Allen replies, “What’s it about?” - but they intersperse these with extended scenes of pure physical comedy, including Chavez’s mimed shuffle of a deck of cards (as Magic Rick, the onboard entertainment), which goes on for several minutes with him providing the “brrrrrrr!, brrrrrrrr!” sound effect throughout.
There are also sly throwaway gags - “This soup is so vegan it probably gives you a lecture before you eat it” - a clever running joke from Allen's cute-assed trolley captain about why everybody in the world loves snacks, and a fantastic recreation, speeded up, movie-style, of Chavez’s seemingly prim lady reading the aforementioned raunchy novel, with Allen as the fitfully sleeping companion at her side.
Chavez and Allen are a double act in perfect synch (even their fluffs they turn into funnies) and this is an hour of tour-de-force - how should one describe it? - comedy, theatre, performance. Who cares? It’s utterly brilliant.
Pajama Men tickets booking at the Soho Theatre, London until 8 February.
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