Withering Looks (tour)

Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, aka Lipservice are celebrating 21 years in the business. Their madcap, zany humour has tickled the funny bone of theatregoers all over the UK and to celebrate, Withering Looks is back on a brand new tour. After their disappointing Horror For Wimps, the duo return to their roots, thankfully, with this hilarious look at the Bronte sisters and their literature.

If you are either potty about the Brontes or find yourself singing the iconic Kate Bush line: “Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy, I’ve come home”, there is much to enjoy here. The sound of the wind rattling against the window, the longing stares and the two lost souls are all evident in this affectionate look at the sisters’ hit-lit. With lines like: “I’ve got a festering mass” and “His hand brushed against my blotter” you are guaranteed to be smiling long after the curtain has come down.

The terrific twosome act out a multitude of scenes, whilst ad-libbing, face pulling and keeping a stiff upper lip throughout. Fox just gets better with each show. She has become the silent partner whose knowing looks, winks and nudges can split your sides without her uttering a line of dialogue. Ryding is also excellent, displaying physical prowess and a real knack for slapstick comedy.

After the disappointment of their last show, the talented duo are much more comfortable sending up classics and adding their own additions to the terribly British dialogue, cue, “She was clumsy with my condiments!” This lovely, Northern, Victoria Wood-style wit is inoffensive but always hits the comedy bull’s-eye.

By the time we reach the denouement – an MGM-style version of Wuthering Heights – the audience on the night I attended were aching with laughter. Noreen Kershaw‘s direction is sometimes slightly stilted as several scenes come to an abrupt halt. But Fox and Ryding like being put on the spot and some of the best lines are unscripted anecdotes aimed directly at the audience.

With funny references to Cliff Richard, Jilly Cooper and Laurence Olivier, there is something here to please all-comers. What ‘moor’ could you possibly want?

– Glenn Meads (reviewed at the Lowry, Salford)