Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood – The Witham, Barnard Castle

Director: Sarah-Louise Young

Writers: Paulus the Cabaret Geek and Victoria Wood

In the UK, “National Treasure” is an epithet often bandied around, although rarely accurately. However, in the case of Victoria Wood, it’s hard to argue she was anything but. Sadly one of the many beloved celebrities we lost in the annus horribilis that was 2016, Wood was only 62 years old and yet still managed to entertain a nation for over four decades since being discovered on New Faces in 1974. Regardless of whether she was doing sketch comedy (Wood & Walters, …As Seen on TV), stand-up (An Evening With…), sitcom (dinnerladies), or more dramatic material (Pat & Margaret, Housewife, 49), Wood’s penchant for sharp observational satire on class, as well as a flair for the slightly surreal, was present throughout everything she wrote. These traits were also very evident in the numerous songs that she composed and would usually perform while accompanying herself on the piano.

From the start of this tribute to Wood and her songs, writer and performer Paulus the Cabaret Geek’s enthusiasm for the subject, as well as his flamboyance and infectious charm, are front and centre. Weaving his own life and the importance of Wood within it (they never met, but she did touchingly contact him in response to his appeal for support while struggling at college), Paulus deftly lays out Wood’s career, influence and legacy while intermittently bursting into song.

For those with just a passing knowledge of the Victoria Wood songbook, The Ballad of Barry & Freda (aka Let’s Do It) may be their only real touchstone, and while that hilarious ode to middle-age sex makes for a perfect finale to this show, it is only the tip of the iceberg. The choices that Paulus has made for what to include here brilliantly illustrate Wood’s versatility both musically and lyrically. While there are plenty of rollickingly fun songs featuring references to Northern clichés and middle class women’s accoutrements, there are also some beautiful ballads. Wood was never predictable, and her tender songs here are on subjects outside of the box: a man grieving his deceased wife, a young girl’s obsession with a much older boy, and the shocking reveal that the theme tune to dinnerladies actually has lyrics.

Paulus begins the show by pointing out that he is about to prove that it takes two men to do the job of one woman – and half as well. The second man is Michael Roulston, the show’s pianist and Paulus’s occasional straight man. Roulston’s lugubrious delivery of many of Wood’s one liners is a perfect contrast to Paulus’s smiling demeanour, and he also brilliantly brings Wood’s tunes to life on the keys of the baby grand.

As well as an overview of Wood’s career and the influence it had on him, Paulus also intersperses lots and lots of Wood quotes from sketches and shows between the songs, and while these are all humorous, many don’t really stand up by themselves. Delivered brilliantly by him and Roulston (also a Wood super fan), the lines will only make 100% sense to the Wood-obsessed, while to most they will likely only evoke vague memories of funny sketches. These lines and the speed in which they are delivered, does sometimes make this show a little alienating to the casual audience member. However, I doubt that many people who see this show will not then go home and start hammering on YouTube to relive these moments with their creator, and for that Mr The Cabaret Geek, mission accomplished.

Paulus is an undoubted talent, and with Looking For Me Friend he has crafted a brilliantly entertaining cabaret that showcases a writer whose works are perhaps not kept alive as much as they should be. This show readdresses that balance, and while nobody could deliver this material as well as its creator, the talented team of Paulus and Roulston come pretty bloody close: highlighting Wood’s genius while keeping her memory alive, and of course, making people laugh. A lot.

Reviewed on 21st March. Touring the UK throughout 2025.