In Bits of Us, writer/performers Laura Buskes and Tim Quabba chart Alice and Ben’s journey into coupledom. It’s a touching hour of sketch theatre that brings big laughs, but isn’t preoccupied with them. More than anything it’s original storytelling done well.

The audience meet Alice and Ben as they meet each other. Their relationship is then imagined in a number of different ways as the couple grow closer: as contestants on a game show, as an employee putting his case forward to his manager for a promotion, and as secret agents grappling with the prospect of their first solo missions. But the parallels with Alice and Ben are clear throughout.

There’s no attempt to exaggerate character flaws, and both Alice and Ben are refreshing in their normalcy. There’s enough complication when two people decide to throw their lot in together, the writers tell us, and there’s a sense that this duo could be anybody. In this way, Bits of Us avoids sweeping statements about all relationships – we’re simply given two people and pretty soon we care for them.

The technical elements of the show didn’t always work – sound and lighting cues were missed – but strangely, this added to the show’s tenderness. Both improvisers by training, Buskes and Quabba brought levity to these moments. While there’s a sense that the show will tighten as the run continues, in a way they would be remiss to deny the audience this rawness, it really adds to the honesty of the piece.

Written with humility and injected with honesty, Bits of Us cuts through the humdrum of relationship clichés. It’s an intimate and genuinely honest take on the lives of two people that will refresh the respect that you have for your own relationships.

Make sure you meet Alice and Ben.

Bits of Us will be at the Improv Conspiracy – Office from Sep 26-Oct 3 at 9.15pm Tues-Sat, 8.15pm Sun. Tickets $12-$15. Book tickets at melbournefringe.com.au or call (03) 9660 9666