Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Gillian Hardie, Keddy Sutton.
The Scottie Road Two are at large in Liverpool, they are on the run armed with musical comic satire, a set of hilarious harmonies to die for and with a fondness for providing the funny-bone with an evening out that few can match.
The last time Mis Les came to the Unity Theatre as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations for Homotopia in 2013, Keddy Sutton and Gillian Hardie bought the house down night after night with their irreverent and utterly entertaining creations Caz and Britney, some 14 months on, there is no need to change your mind on how funny they are, no need to make alternative arrangements in which to get out of the house and avoid the bleakness of winter. Now with more smiles, winks and good cheers than you would find a reunion for a school for clowns on a summer vacation in the hippest place in town, Ms. Sutton and Ms. Hardie capture the hearts once again and have the audience praying for one day at least a final play as to place into a trilogy.
Satire and genuine comic irreverence, even with a huge amount of affection for the musical they are taking off, bounds like a happy kangaroo with a ticket to see game hunters chased stark naked through the Australian bush whilst they wear only pants lined in stinging nettles. The beautifully mad, the genius of comic insanity and parody of timeless tunes are all within a breath that invokes the thought of what a great pair of all rounders the two actors are.
Les Miserables is quite rightly one of the top theatre musicals ever put on stage. However, everything is ripe for parody and the little twists on language that a comic can provide in abundance are to be seen throughout Mis Les, the wonderful segues, the songs, in which Ms Hardie’s voice is enough to make an audience member shiver with gleeful anticipation, even if she is playing it completely for laughs and Ms. Sutton’s truly outstanding virtue of being, in the best possible way, a clown’s clown, makes Mis Les the first hit of the year and with rainbow flags held very high, it is just a wonderful and colourful way to spend a couple of hours out.
The Scottie Road Two, long may they evade incarceration, for they bring much joy to the dark depths of winter.
Ian D. Hall