Scouse Pacific – Royal Court, Liverpool

Writer: Fred Lawless

Director: Bob Eaton

Reviewer: John Roberts

First produced at The Royal Court as a Christmas production, now almost a decade later the show gets a summer revival, which feels as fresh and as funny as it was when it was first performed. Needless to say this comic castaway caper features an almost face cohort in the roles but that doesn’t diminish the fun, in fact their youth and vibrancy really add a sense of energy to Fred Lawless’ comic creation.

A bunch of nuns exiled from Liverpool find themselves washed ashore on a small volcanic island in the middle of the pacific-ocean. Originally thought to be uninhabited, the island is home to a small family of scousers that have never stepped foot in Liverpool or eaten anything other than banana’s and what little of the world past the horizon has been learnt by washed up Echo newspapers.

As the small family unit Lindzi Germain (Mary), Jake Abraham (Terry) and Jamie Clarke (Donna Marie) gel well together, bringing larger than life characters alive and equally matching them with some sharp vocal performances especially from Clark. As the washed-up young nuns Abigail Middleton and Mia Molloy provide the evening with plenty of gambling induced profanity. They are overseen by Michael Starke as the Irish nun Sister Mersey, who is more interested in her “special” holy spirit than spreading the gospel. Stephen Fletcher excels with smarmy charm as the weasel like Wirral property developer Roger Burke, while Guy Freeman is a delight to watch as his naïve nephew Richard Head.

It’s safe to say that Lawless isn’t going for sophisticated comedy here with Scouse Pacificand nor should he have to, instead we are given a fun-filled two hours of silly scouse humour which provides plenty more to enjoy than some of this year’s offerings at Royal Court. Director Bob Eaton ensures the pace is slick and that the cast don’t get carried away too much, yes it could be said that the second act starts to lose its way a little and that some of the songs could do with a little trim here and there, but nothing that spoils the general atmosphere of the evening.

Played out on Mark Walters simple but effective island set, and lit by Ian Scott’s warm and colourful lighting design, Scouse Pacific hits all the right boxes. So, if you are looking for a fun night out that is as mad as a box of bananas, then get yourself down to Roe Street before the summer is out as you won’t be disappointed.

Runs until 10 August 2019 | Image: Activate Digital