1 – 12 November
Living Spit are well known to the South West cognoscenti as a comic duo who regularly play fast and loose with historical and literary dramas. In the past they have tackled Elizabeth I, (Virgin on the Ridiculous), Frankenstein (The Musical) and even The Nativity. In Adolf and Winston, they not only portray the two eponymous principal figures of the Second World War, but this time round must do it without one of the main cast members. Sadly, Howard Coggins is sick and in recovery. So, is this version a one man show?
Fortunately not as Howard has been replaced by long-term Living Spit director, Craig Edwards, and he more than fills the shoes and body suit to portray Winston Churchill in all his glory.
And what a glorious show it is. With Stu Mcloughlin sporting a ridiculous item of painted facial hair, the pair throw themselves into a multitude of bizarre characters including an outrageously camp Rudolf Hess, a sycophantic Von Ribbentrop, and an ineffectual Chamberlain. Much of this is historically accurate, but not nearly as accurate as the sharply honed barbs of wit that are aimed nonstop at the audience for just over an hour.
Material handled by less astute performers could be construed as crass and insensitive, but Living Spit manage to poke fun at every possible target and at every possible opportunity until they reduce a cataclysmic world event involving death, destruction and mass murder to one purely consisting of mirth.
Churchill first appears in his Union Jack underpants preparing to sink into a tin bath for a soak, while Hitler is working himself up into a lather of his own. A typical weapon deployed by Living Spit is the use of strong language which successfully underlines rather than undermines the humour. Further characters include an oily Mussolini, an overly bespectacled Roosevelt and several appearances by Stu as the Black Dog of Churchill’s depression, panting and seeking to undermine him when times get hard. On a simple stage equipped only with two desks and chairs and with a plethora of hilarious songs the conflict is condensed into a whirlwind fifteen minute potted history of the ‘Greatest Hits of WWII.’ Setting a time counter at the rear of the stage the dynamic duo recreate as much of the action as they can along with as many belly laugh bombs it is possible to drop. They even sensitively deal with the Holocaust.
The ability to shock still exists, no less at the finale when Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun are in the Berlin Bunker contemplating suicide. ‘A soon to be Dead Dictator’ is the pick of the comic songs, complete with full orchestral flourish which gets the audience clapping along until they realise what they are clapping for.
Living Spit are still very much alive and spitting and although we all wish Howard Coggins a speedy recovery, this show is tribute to the comic genius that is embodied in their DNA. If you enjoy bad taste done very well, then you will not find a funnier show in Bristol this year.
★★★★★ Bryan Mason, 3rd November 2022
Photo credit: Graham Burke
