Satin 'n' Steel (Oldham)

The gritty tough Northern club circuit has been the backdrop for many a play and TV drama and Amanda Whittington's homage will not be setting the world alight with creativity or originality but it does demonstrate the skills required to perform a two hander.  

Personality vocalist Vince Steel (Matt Healy) is making a reasonable living in show business on the club circuit when he discovered Tina White (Roxanne Pallett) who moves from shy young girl working in a cake factory to singing sensation in record time.  A duo is formed following a variety of name changes - leading up to Satin ‘n’ Steel - as the twosome plug away waiting for their chance to make it.

Inevitably the working relationship builds in to a romance but can Vince shake his somewhat murky past to make the relationship work on a personal and professional level. With a chance at stardom after years of work Satin ‘n’ Steel could be going places.

The story is predictable, the jokes a little hackneyed but Healy and Pallett bring the material alive and capture the essence of a dying breed of performers well, with Pallett in particular demonstrating a pleasing and surprising vocal, while Healy cuts a lonely figure as Vince Steel; calling the bingo and drawing the raffle between songs.

Beautifully lit by Jane Barrek, Satin 'n' Steel is an ode to a pre-X Factor world and it's fantastically performed by a cast of two - who bring the material to life with ease.

- Ruth Lovett