by Oliver Guinness
Richly bedecked in Sixties costumes, The Purple Theatre Company performed
a taster of their forthcoming show at the Listen Inn.
Club-a-Go-Go set the scene nicely, followed by Love On Our Side:
reminiscent of Sonny and Cher. The MC informed us that many of the show’s songs are
gentle parodies of classics from the era.
Another highlight was the male cast singing the risqué What Do You Do? -
asking how to deal with an embarrassing situation ‘arising’ whilst dancing with a girl.
The worldly-wise Eric 'Rubber Legs' de Vene’s reply was comedy gold! (I suggest you see
the show if you want to find out what it was).
The girls also did themselves proud with Waiting, a witty satirical dig
at the protocols of courtship from the female perspective.
On the downside, the balance was uneven: the songs from ‘Slice’ far
better than the Sixties numbers; which came across as being under-rehearsed. Also, although
the group songs were loud and clear, some of the solo numbers were inaudible over the noise
of the audience, and would have benefited from microphones. (I understand that this was
down to the venue, and that other dates on this ‘Taste Tour’ will not suffer the same problem).
All in all though, these talented youngsters did well, and I for one will be
seeing the full show.
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