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View as published at NG-Magazine
It's amazing how the Chuckle Brothers continue to make audiences laugh after more than two decades of Chucklevision. Not many comedy acts can claim that even today's children know the catchphrases from their 20-year old act. Their slapstick comedy is pastiche to some of the earliest TV comedy acts, such as Laurel and Hardy & Charlie Chaplin, which sees them inexpertly moving furniture, falling down manholes and slipping on banana skins.
As the house lights dipped to cheers, Butlins style holiday entertainment music takes over, and the audience start clapping in unison. The brothers haven't even been seen and the audience are raving. This is quickly put to a stop by 'Widow Twanky', played by sprightly stick-thin actor who struggles to speak high-pitched and with a mock northern accent at the same time. The part is one of a strong woman, and the poor actor cast to play it struggles quite visibly. Against the really quite simple painted set, the first ten minutes feel like you're sitting in the local secondary school, though I'd expect they might have done a better job. The audience is waining, time to bring out the brothers? Alas no, not yet.
The scene changes to that of the princess in her palace. She and her sidekick; 'Sunshine' (cringe) suddenly break into ' I can show you the world', the famous song featured in the Disney adaptation. Of course this is put to an overly choreographed dance routine featuring scantily clad backing dancers. For some reason pantomime dance routines insist on moves and costumes that continually flash the dancers' underwear. Obviously this isn't for the children's benefit. More likely it's to attract the men's attention. This left me feeling a bit sick though as every dancer was around the age of 16!
A half hour into the show the Chuckle Brothers finally appear to shouts and cheers. Despite the dodgy set, questionable stage-writing and baffling performances from the supporting cast, Barry and Paul kept us highly entertained. It was brilliant to hear all the children echo the brother's catch phrase 'Elló' welcoming. I had no idea they were still big on children's TV, but with the BBC commissioning a fifteenth series from the 60 & 63 year-olds, the boys are obviously doing fine.
For many children pantomime is their only experience of theatre. Saying that; the same is true for many adults. As pantomime's go, this one lacked any kind of all-round quality or production value. I know it's just a panto, but even still, the show shouldn't rest on the laurels of it's lead actors.
If you want to see the Chuckle Brothers then this is the show for you. Long-time fans will appreciate the inclusion of the skit which won the pair (along with two of their other brothers) ITV's 'New Faces' talent contest in 1979. If you want one panto to watch this year then this isn't it. There are bound to be better alternatives available. The show is still laugh-out-loud funny, but you get the feeling the weight of the show is carried by the Chuckles.
"To me, to you"
View as published at NG Magazine
Shakespeare doesn't exactly bring comedy to mind. Nor has the great Baird typically written plays that are particularly accessible for a modern audience. The Comedy of Errors, however, manages to accomplish both. Not only was it laugh-out-loud funny, but the couple of hours I was at the Theatre flew by. By the end of plays I am usually nursing a sore rear-end as a result of dodgy theatre seats, though in this case The Royal Shakespeare Company served as a more than suitable distraction.
The play opened in Nottingham last night to a sold-out auditorium. It was pleasant to find that this was inhabited by a wide spectrum of different age-groups. Tickets weren't reserved solely for the over thirties. Of course Nottingham students can revel in the fact that any Shakespearean performance will cost them no more than a fiver! A quarter of the cost of face-value tickets!
Separated at birth, a twin begins looking for his brother. Arriving at his home town, he unknowingly becomes mistaken for his sibling, leading to all manner of awkward and compromising situations and misunderstandings. Hilarity is the inevitable outcome.
The set consists of ragged sails and a lop-sided mast, giving an interesting and fruitful backdrop to the scenes. Like many interpretations of classic plays, the RSC have chosen a style of worn authenticity, whereby nothing appears to be new or in good condition. The result is that the audience finds it easy to suspend their sense of disbelief; the overall mise-en-scene takes on a slightly postmodern flavour. The style of acting is not unlike this either. The characters regularly break the fourth wall, mocking the unfortunate people who shelled-out for front-row seats.
Fans of quirky and stylistic comedies, such as The Mighty Boosh or Green Wing, will find the humour hits the spot. Mannerisms are exaggerated and the comedy is elevated to the point where it becomes borderline slapstick, though without the risk of seeming silly: the characters are speaking in prose after all. Possibly one of the funniest characters - the medicine man - reminded me of Johnny Depp's infamous Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy, but in a style reminiscent of Noel Fielding's. It all makes for a highly amusing experience.
Many reasonably famous faces line the cast list. Jason Merrells plays one of the twins, Antipholus, having starred in The Bill, Casualty, and Waterloo Road among many others. The rest of the line-up have similar records, meaning you will recognise many of the actors from their previous work.
The Comedy Of Errors is on at the Theatre Royal until 10 November. If you can get hold of tickets, then do so with haste: a production of such quality doesn't come around very frequently. Students should make extra effort. This is a performance of a classic Shakespeare play I guarantee you will enjoy. Plus if you phone you parents telling them where you've been, you might be able to get a bit more cash out of them!
