Comedy duo Flo & Joan rework a rock band's setlist in new show With Feeling

Musical comedy duo Flo & Joan, who are sisters, are performing their new show With Feeling at Shepherd's Bush Empire, a concert venue in London. It grew out of a chance discovery: four years ago, when they last played the venue, the sisters found a setlist on stage left that had been left by the indie-rock band the Feeling the night before. It made them reflect on their relationship with the music industry, and on whether they are a proper band or doomed to stay "musical comedy" – a label they deadpan is a problem because "no one takes it seriously".

First half: new songs, old setlist

In the first half, the duo perform a suite of new songs whose titles match the Feeling's setlist one by one. Fill My Little World becomes a neurotic number about the surfeit of stuff, including cheap food, fast fashion and AI slop. Never Be Lonely returns to a favourite topic, the sisters' toxic co-dependency, with an added sight gag about the questionable trumpet skills of Joan (Rosie Dempsey in real life). Other songs address the risks of poor punctuation and the need, in a society giddy on unfiltered self-expression, to "bring back shame".

Some of the borrowed titles inspire comic business or bad puns rather than full new songs. The review notes that the pair are more expansive on stage than they used to be, amusing each other as they move through a wide range of musical styles, sibling backchat and surprise interventions.

Second half: rock band fantasies

In act two, the duo indulge their rock band fantasies, complete with leathers, bandanas and a drumkit, on well-loved numbers from their back catalogue. These include The Rest of My Life, about social gaffes and the cringe they cause, and Lady In the Woods, a nonsense spoof folk song. The reviewer cites witty lyrics, rich harmonies and musical surprises, this time with a droll layer of rock posturing. The show is on tour until 12 December.