Theatre Review: Living Spit's Odyssey at Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol

This review was first written for British Theatre Guide

Bristol comedy duo Living Spit returns to the Tobacco Factory with a unique rendition of Homer’s Odyssey. This home audience knows what to expect by now from Howard Coggins and Stu McLoughlin at their best, based on shows such as Adolf & Winston or Elizabeth I—Virgin on the Ridiculous: knockabout hilarity and bawdy jokes, supremely inventive storytelling and silly songs, audience interaction and plenty of dressing up with bad wigs.

Living Spit’s Odyssey is different, though, as the endearing duo are joined on stage by jazz and blues singer Kate Dimbleby and professional musician Sam Mills. Dimbleby takes centre stage as Penelope, waiting in Ithaca for 20 years while her husband Odysseus is away fighting in the Trojan wars and serially delayed on his epic journey home.

Penelope’s house is reinvented as a nightclub, because, rather than sitting and weaving for two decades, this 21st century version of an empowered Penelope has been entertaining her many suitors with song—her smoky tones layered to a crescendo on a vocal looper. It’s a strong opening number that she insists on finishing, despite the untimely interruption of a triumphantly returning Odysseus—played by Coggins and accompanied by McLoughlin’s Anonymous Minion 1—proclaiming, swearing and desperate to regale her with his exploits and explain his multiple detours.

Before a sceptical Penelope, Odysseus and his Minion then re-enact their travails—stopping off at the land of the Lotus Eaters because the ship’s crew wanted a proper poo in privacy, then trapped in a cave by the cyclops Polyphemus as they seek to exchange their plentiful supply of wine for a much-needed truckle of cheese. Supporting this narrative, Mills proves to be a versatile actor as well as musician, stepping in to play a dish-plying waiter in a Chinese restaurant and Polyphemus’s swivel-eyed lone surviving sheep.

There’s plenty of laugh-out-loud creativity in the simple rotation of dishes in the restaurant, the use of torches in the dark cave to create multiple characters and the panto-like retelling of the crew’s disastrous appropriation of Aeolus’s bag of winds. The songs are warm and witty and the foursome makes effective use of ingenious costumes and props and Katie Sykes’s simple circular set. But there are also moments between episodes where the comic momentum seems to flag.

The second act is much slicker, as Odysseus resists being turned into a pig by Circe thanks to a hilariously simple delivery from Hermes. His vivid sacrifice of a soft-toy goat and sheep draws gasps from the audience; he encounters a very lively Land of the Dead and evades the sirens’ call, only to be trapped by the nymph Calypso—an amorous McLoughlin dressed up in best shower-curtain style. There is even pathos as Penelope expresses doubts about her husband’s enduring love, accompanying herself on the ukulele, and Odysseus sings a torch song, joined by his wife in an unexpectedly moving duet.

While Living Spit’s brand of raucous playfulness has always been underpinned by structure and skill, this collaboration brings a new and hitherto unseen sophistication to their performance. Dimbleby is not only a singer and musician but also an accomplished raconteur; their contrasting styles meld successfully to bring greater depth to the show’s musicality and emotional breadth to its larky storytelling.

Reviewed on 12 November 2019 | Images: Camilla Adams

Theatre Review: Living Spit's A Christmas Carol at the Brewery Theatre, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol

This review was first written for The Reviews Hub

Much-loved comedy duo Living Spit is back in the Brewery Theatre with its own particular take on that perennial Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Such is the extent of Bristol’s appreciation for Stuart Mcloughlin and Howard Coggins that most of the run is already sold out, with extra shows having been added.

It isn’t difficult to see why. Living Spit’s particular brand of adult-style Horrible Histories silliness has previously tackled subjects as diverse as Elizabeth I and Adolf Hitler with sharp-witted verve. The two actors are great at storytelling and playing themselves alongside multiple characters, so it seems A Christmas Carol should be right up their street.

And indeed, there are moments of guffaw-worthy delight. The entrance of the actor Howard Coggins is a highlight as he transforms into the pyjama clad, Daily Mail reading Ebenezer Scrooge railing against migrants with plenty of Bah Humbugs thrown in. From thereon in, it’s a largely traditional retelling of the story, featuring the ghosts of Marley and Christmases Past, Present (taken very literally) and Future, with a contemporary twist. There’s a good old debate about the talents of Pierce Brosnan and his untrained singing voice in Mama Mia!, while a chugger gets short shrift as he accosts Scrooge in the street. Stu takes every opportunity to don a variety of dresses and wigs and the duo’s well-sung harmonies make a reappearance in trademark songs such as Howard’s Interval Song and the funny but surprisingly poignant ballad Let’s Have Pity on Uncle Scrooge.

In between, though, there are some meandering scenes which could do with tightening to lift this piece to the same level as other Living Spit productions. Scrooge’s encounter with his first girlfriend Angharad at Fezziwig’s nightclub is endearing but overlong and doesn’t really go anywhere. Some of the dialogue isn’t as crisp and sparkling as usual and the appearance of each of the ghosts and recreation of minor characters in the form of Barbie dolls and teddies – despite a fantastically Pythonesque Christmas meal for the Cratchit family – is oddly lacking in comedic or dramatic tension.

The ending is satisfying, though, as the audience gets the chance to join in an enjoyably crass rendition of Hymn 1971 and Scrooge realises the error of his ways and sets about putting things right with an inflatable turkey. Living Spit’s A Christmas Carol is still a Christmas cracker full of festive fun, sure to please the fans, but it could be so much more with some judicious tweaking.

Reviewed on 9 December 2015 | Image: Paul Blakemore

Theatre Review: The Devil and the Shopkeeper at Theatre Shop, Clevedon

This review was first written for The Public Reviews

There’s something thrilling transforming the seaside town of Clevedon this month, with the inaugural season of Theatre Shop, an empty retail unit on a pleasant square, reborn as a venue for professional live performance.

Bristol-based Living Spit is one of the creative forces behind this reinvention, as well as a major player in the theatre’s programming. Not only are they involved in presenting Living Quiz, a theatrical-style pub quiz, and their show One Man and his Cow, they also perform in Parts 1 and 2 of their retail-themed caper The Devil & The Shopkeeper.

Told with Living Spit’s trademark combination of rhyming couplets, silly songs and live music, with a cardboard cash register teetering on a counter of empty fruit crates, The Devil & The Shopkeeper recounts the woes of independent store-owning Jeremiah Brown to a packed and expectant family audience.

Jeremiah’s small shop was once the thriving hub of the community, catering to all possible tastes and requirements. Who knows when you might need a hat with a light on it? But recently, he’s been losing out to the new superstores moving into town and now he hasn’t made a sale in weeks. Cue the entry of a mysterious stranger offering to bring hordes of customers flocking back to his door. But his contract comes at very high price and may not be quite the bargain that Jeremiah was expecting.

Howard Coggins and Stu Mcloughlin unfold their tale with energy and freshness – despite this being their third show of the day, there’s no sign of flagging. Words are cleverly crafted and there’s great musical agility on display – from double bass to ukulele. Coggins is endearing as the put-upon shopkeeper and Mcloughlin suitably menacing – in true pantomime-villain style – as the visiting devil. With little in the way of lighting and special effects – a solitary red light and the odd puff of dry ice – in the daylight of the intimate shop surroundings, they make very effective use of space; strutting out of the shop door to the bemusement of passers by, who also peer in through uncurtained windows from time to time to see what all the fun’s about.

Part 1 wraps up with a very silly and satisfying conclusion and Part 2 continues Jeremiah’s story as the devil – having exposed a hitherto unsuspected weakness – returns with another dastardly plan.

This is a tautly-written, lively and fun-filled sixty minutes of family entertainment. Its enthusiastic reception suggests that, in bringing the best of Bristol to a wider north Somerset audience, Theatre Shop is providing a hugely diverting distraction from the joys – or otherwise – of real-life shopping.

Reviewed on 16^th May 2015.