Review for Doncaster Free Press (October, 2010)
(pre-edited text)
Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller brought their comedy show
to the Lyceum last week for the Sheffield leg
of their nationwide tour. The comedy duo have found success separately (both
have ventured into acting and Armstrong has carved out a niche as a presenter)
but it is as a partnership - now into its 18th year – that the duo
remain more comfortable. The third series of their BBC sketch show airs this
autumn, but before that, there’s the matter of an ambitious 60-plus date tour,
their first time on the road since 2001.
The show opens with the duo’s most recognisable creations,
the WW2 “chav” RAF pilots, who are disturbed to find themselves parachuting in
to a place even worse than wartime Germany – yes, Sheffield! The airmen reappear
throughout the show, proving that A&M know what the audience like, and are
happy to deliver it in spades. They make the airmen not only funny but also
touching in a final scene reminiscent of Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter
of Life and Death,
Most of the TV show’s regular characters are transferred to
the stage, generally with great success, although a sketch involving Miranda
and Pru, a pair of seemingly placid old ladies whose disagreements invariably
end in violence seemed a touch underdeveloped and below A&M’s usual
standards; the sketch’s conclusion of the audience being pelted with buns was a
bit pantomime-esque and not in good way.
The best of the sketches are saved for the second half of
the show and audience participation is involved, showing the duo are just as
capable of ad-libbing, as they are at scripted performances. Highlights include
the marvellously silly “How many Hats?” gameshow, which basically does what it
says in the title, and the brilliantly lewd Brabbins and Fyffe, the Flanders
and Swann take off, who are as hilariously rude as ever
Ever the entertainers, the show concludes with a mass
sing-a-long which had all the audience on their feet, concluding a thoroughly
enjoyable evening’s entertainment. The performers remained behind after the
show to sign autographs, proving just as personable in the flesh as they appear
on screen.
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