Equipped with only black tabards, black breeches, ruffs and an assortment of silly hats, Great British Mysteries took us on a frantic, whirlwind voyage through the darker parts of Tudor history.
Olive Bacon (Rose Robinson) and Dr. Teddy Tyrell (Will Close) are Mystery Hunters, turning up ever more obscure clues to unsolved, forgotten unknown unknowns. Complete with stove pipe hat and dry ice Rose becomes the ‘Witchfinder General Knowledge’, before she herself is outed as a witch, to a Gloria Gaynor soundtrack, ‘hexed’, laying the ground for the best pun of the evening, “‘Hex it’ means ‘Hex it’”! Further puns come thick and fast – like ‘Sonnet the Hedgehog’, although Sir Walter Raleigh’s ‘touching the cloth’ is probably best left unexplained. There are ancient and modern references galore, Sir Killalot from ‘Robot Wars’ and the Mario Brothers finding themselves interwoven into the colourful tapestry. In fact, to get all the puns and references you would probably have to book for another evening!
Praise must go to the spot on timing of the back projection and sound effects, underpinning the duo’s rapid fire delivery of witty one-liners, quick-change role reversals, and projected, unexpected but inspired lunacy. You would have to be quick to notice the historical Francis Bacon intercut with the modern artist! Watching this team is like hanging on to a runaway horse, but with plenty of laughs. You never know where they will go next! Rose and Will display brilliant chemistry and like the great double acts (Morecambe and Wise, Laurel and Hardy?) show terrific skill in pretending to be idiots.
The direction by Joseph Hancock kept the kettle boiling to great effect. There were no dull moments. The show has evolved from the team’s sell out success at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, but has gone back in time four hundred years.
The capacity audience was resplendent in their own ruffs, made from paper plates. They were with the troupe from the start, cheering wildly at the end of the show. ★★★★☆ Michael Clark 24th October 2019
