Director: Tom Parry
What have national treasures Michael Ball and Alfie Boe done to deserve such a lampooning? A lot, according to comics Adam Riches and John Kearns. Poor Ball and Boe, but even they would find plenty to laugh at in this slick 60-minute show.
The first joke of the night is that Riches and Kearns look nothing like their real-life counterparts. However, Riches (once Sean Bean on 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) has Ball’s showbiz luviness down to a tee. Constantly upbeat with an occasional flutter of the fingertips to a fan in the audience, Riches’ character is the epitome of BBC light entertainment, where a breezy personality carries something a little sinister in its undertow.
Kearns’s Boe is more troubled, barely containing his pent-up anger that he and his singing partner are about to release yet another covers album for Christmas when he’d rather work with Michael Bublé. Events take a darker turn when Ball takes something out of his pocket in a nifty piece of Product Placement. Can Boe get back to basics and sing the songs he’s always wanted to sing?
There’s much fun to be had in the pair’s bickering and in the games they play on stage. Of course, they sing too, but we’re not allowed to talk about the numbers in the show. But you’ll leave Soho Theatre humming at least one of them, for sure. Perhaps Riches and Kearns aren’t the best singers – Ball and Boe need not worry too much – but boy (Boe?), do they try, and the result is hilarious.
Although the hour never drags, there are a few slow moments, like the Naughty or Nice skit, that aren’t particularly funny or clever. Better is when Riches’ Ball reads out fans’ letters to the audience, quipping the occasional “Get well soon” to the writer who hasn’t disclosed any sign of an illness. And at one point, he sticks out his tongue slightly, a gesture of cheekiness beloved by many TV hosts.
Kearns’s Boe is more rural, more rough-and-ready compared to his partner’s ready-packaged, shrink-wrapped geniality, and the contrast between them powers the show. If you’re not a Bauble (BallBoe) already, you’ll be one by the end of the show.
Runs until 4 January 2005
