Published Monday 19 December 2011 by Will Ramsey for The Stage
There are glitzy ballroom dance routines and a carriage pulled by two Shetland ponies. But as a spectacle, nothing tops the Chuckle Brothers. Paul and Barry Elliott remain compulsively watchable – their intuition shaped by a double act which dates back to their childhood.
Playing to type in Hull New Theatre’s panto – Paul as the smart one, Barry his bewildered sidekick – the pair’s turn as Buttons and Zip is a masterclass in comic timing.
They perform an eye-watering gag with a razor sharp sword and a cucumber held at waist height. And, with great affection, they relentlessly send each other up. Barry’s rendition of I Believe (For Every Drop of Rain that Falls) is met with the contents of a watering can.
Their slapstick sets the tone for this Qdos Entertainment production. Even the vile Ugly Sisters – Nathan Kiley and Andrew Dyer as the terrifying Trinny and Susannah – can’t derail the bonhomie.
Jon Conway’s script ensures it all bubbles along nicely, with a depth to the gags beyond straightforward slapstick. There is some pathos for the lovelorn Barry, whose tongue-tied entreaties to Cinderella (Emma Dearden) are gently rebuffed.
This leads into the finest sequence in the production, after Cinders’ ticket to the ball is ripped up by the Ugly Sisters. With great gentleness, Barry stages a ball for Cinders. Two chairs on a table – with dustbin lids for wheels – becomes a carriage. To top it off, a string of carrots is solemnly handed over as a gold necklace. “Nine carat that,” says Barry, with a shy grin.
