Skip to main content

Review of Flash Festival 2016: What If They Were Wrong? by Two Funny at Hazelrigg House (Studios)

Clowns. We hate them or we love them (if you are really weird). I am not particularly enamored really (although I am weird). So a Flash show based around them, what would there be to like? Not a lot I would imagine.

However in the hands of Two Funny formed of Cynthia Lebbos and Benjamin Williams, they are really very appealing. It helps that this is more silly behaviour than strange noses and big feet. This is a sort of Mr Bean situation, but with a modern edge. Indeed Benjamin reminded me a great deal of Rowan Atkinson during the show, full of the awkward social problems, bizarre pulling of faces and tremendous physical ability, literally bouncing off the walls at times.

Both characters are magnificently cute and endearing as their burgeoning romance over reduced bread and cheese slices develops. It helps also that this is the most interactive of all the shows as nearly everyone in the audience gets involved at some point, if only to have their hair stroked or a peg put on it (their hair). There is also a quite stunning scene, the wedding, where half a dozen of us (including moi) are up and part of the scene. Personally my own appearance was a return to my one stage skill of holding something up, as I had the mantelpiece during The Play That Goes Wrong. This time it was a giant papier mache mitre, which was balanced on poor Ellen Shersby Wignall's head as with a rapidly charging accent, she read the service from a scroll.

There are elements of danger in using so many audience members, however this was a very accommodating one, well most of them were fellow students after all. It was again another show that would be fascinating to see performed in front of a relatively standard theatre audience. The choosing of someone to read that extract from Fifty Shades would be a particularly interesting one.

Cynthia and Benjamin are both brilliant and lively in their performances. Quite obviously working really well together and although it is a show that can happily have random things happening, someone falling over for example. It is clear that this has been superbly constructed and rehearsed to perfection.

As is the want of many Flash shows, this does have its social commentary point and this particular one is anger management and is done in the most magnificently unexpected and indeed macabre way. We are encouraged out of our chairs and ushered down into the basement of Hazelrigg, where perhaps the biggest surprise of this years Flash occurs as this show becomes one of incredible black comedy.

It was a heck of a way to finish a most superbly entertaining show. Full of drive and physical prowess from the two performers and a tremendous ease with the audience. Definitely one of the best from Flash this year.


The Flash Festival 2016 runs between Monday 16th and Saturday 21st May, 2016 at four venues across the town. Details can be found at http://ftfevents.wix.com/flashtheatre2016

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Lord Of The Dance at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The stage show Lord of the Dance possibly needs little introduction to most people, as it has become a legend and now, in this touring version, subtitled rather immodestly, 25 Years of Standing Ovations, it reaches a landmark anniversary. Those that do not know of the show would probably well know its spiritual fathers Michael Flatley, and even more likely Riverdance , from which Lord of the Dance sprung with a proper spring in its step. During the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Riverdance hit the world by storm as Michael Flatley and his troop of dancers possibly presented the most famous part of Eurovision ever, certainly of the non-singing variety at least. Here, this touring show brings that same style Flatley created from traditional Irish dancing across the country once again and it is truly something special to see. The concept of the show is simply a battle between good and evil told through dance, and some captivating and stunning songs performed by Celyn Cartw...

Review of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Milton Keynes Theatre

There have been numerous productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's groundbreaking musical since it first appeared in 1968 and opened in the West End in 1973. One might wonder if there is still room for another tour. However, judging by the packed audience in Milton Keynes Theatre for the opening night of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , much interest remains for this show. Also, with this production first seen at The London Palladium in June 2019, and with a few production elements altered, Joseph still has, after all those years, the room to change and evolve. However, the question is, does this change help or hinder the show's history? For those unfamiliar with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, it tells the story of Joseph, Jacob's favourite son, in a lighthearted and musical style that jumps between various genres. Joseph's brothers are somewhat envious of him, leading to them selling him into slavery to an Egyptian nobleman. As for ...

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...