That What About Dick? has such a great cast(always have been a huge Tim Curry fan) is reason enough to see it, another reason being that if you loved Spamalot(which Eric Idle also had a big hand in), you'll love What About Dick? With What About Dick?, the story is bizarre with not a huge amount structurally(and it knows that) but the humour and performances are such a joy that that feels irrelevant. In terms of performances, the cast are spot-on on the whole but Russell Brand I felt was the weak link, lacking the experience and comic timing of the rest of the cast so he comes off as pallid instead. Jane Leeves is very funny, like she was on Frasier- one of my personal favourite shows of all time- and she sports not a bad singing voice either. Sophie Winkleman is elegance and beauty personified and fares well with the rest of the cast too. The funniest of the ladies was Tracey Ullman, a riotous performance that was one of the second act's high points. Eddie Izzard's Italian accent is not the greatest, however he does bravely with his roles, even going back and forth to each microphone and back. Billy Connolly does struggle to keep a straight face with a few fluffed lines and a speech impediment that compromised diction-clarity but actually that was part of the fun watching him.
Not just how funny his lines were and how he was enjoying himself but how his colleagues were reacting to him, especially with Eric Idle(doing a fine job personifying a piano that ties the story together) and Tracey Ullman. My guess is that some was improvised because some of the trying-hard-not-to-laugh facial expressions did give an indication that they weren't expecting what was coming out of Connolly's mouth. Jim Piddock didn't have as much to do but is hardly a liability, in fact he is charming and his banter with Curry is hilarious. And Tim Curry doesn't disappoint either, every gesture, expression and line delivery holds your attention immediately(Curry is just as good at comedy as he is playing villains), and his singing still sounds great. They are aided by a truly brilliant script if a little more in the first half than the second, full of jokes(some hilariously rude), absurdist humour and sharply observed and fun-to-spot digs at Rocky Horror, Monty Python, literature, history and British culture. The radio-play concept, emphasised by the microphone stands, was done to clever effect, even with hand-held scripts the performers still seemed to know what they were doing, sometimes not even seeming to need them. The sound effects amuse too, while the set is simple but not tacky and the costumes give a sense of time and period, some elegant(eg. Winkleman's) and some distinguished(eg.Curry's). The songs are tuneful and very memorable with lyrics that just as hilarious and witty as the script, the standouts being The Lonely Trout, Italia, Different Not Gay and Astrology. To conclude, really fantastic fun, more than well worth anyone's time. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Not just how funny his lines were and how he was enjoying himself but how his colleagues were reacting to him, especially with Eric Idle(doing a fine job personifying a piano that ties the story together) and Tracey Ullman. My guess is that some was improvised because some of the trying-hard-not-to-laugh facial expressions did give an indication that they weren't expecting what was coming out of Connolly's mouth. Jim Piddock didn't have as much to do but is hardly a liability, in fact he is charming and his banter with Curry is hilarious. And Tim Curry doesn't disappoint either, every gesture, expression and line delivery holds your attention immediately(Curry is just as good at comedy as he is playing villains), and his singing still sounds great. They are aided by a truly brilliant script if a little more in the first half than the second, full of jokes(some hilariously rude), absurdist humour and sharply observed and fun-to-spot digs at Rocky Horror, Monty Python, literature, history and British culture. The radio-play concept, emphasised by the microphone stands, was done to clever effect, even with hand-held scripts the performers still seemed to know what they were doing, sometimes not even seeming to need them. The sound effects amuse too, while the set is simple but not tacky and the costumes give a sense of time and period, some elegant(eg. Winkleman's) and some distinguished(eg.Curry's). The songs are tuneful and very memorable with lyrics that just as hilarious and witty as the script, the standouts being The Lonely Trout, Italia, Different Not Gay and Astrology. To conclude, really fantastic fun, more than well worth anyone's time. 9/10 Bethany Cox