Why we ate Cliff Richard
Why we ate Cliff Richard is a play by The Roaring Boys that tells the tale of two friends who attend a Cliff Richard fan convention in Switzerland. When they finally encounter their hero things go horribly wrong.
The show began in a wonderfully sixties mood with a slide projector showing images of Cliff and his fans, Cliff’s music playing over the PA and a gentleman dressed as Hank Marvin silently welcoming the punters. Armed with his guitar, ‘Hank’ played along to a medley of Cliff’s hits and did the same during a number of musical links. He also popped up in the background of most of the scenes as a wacky yet bewildering character while the two main characters, Tony and Harry, propelled the plot onwards.
Tony and Harry were a perfect double act, Tony as the Cliff obsessed looney and Harry the slightly dim straight man who didn’t care for Cliff one way or the other. The character of Tony often verged on a similar character by Rik Mayall in both his voice and high energy but enough personal touches were injected to make him unique. The two main actors handled the majority of the other characters, swapping of the role of the Convention Organiser depending on who he was conversing with, while the guy playing Hank assisted with a couple of roles.
The acting was fantastically hammy with the actors throwing themselves into the roles with great gusto. They used some very creative props,audio clips and costuming to bring the tale to life. The script included a number of groan inducing puns incorporating Cliff Richard lyrics that gave it a panto feel.
The play bounced along with a lighthearted tone but took a turn into some very dark territory towards the end bringing the laugh count way down. Through the use of some rather gross jokes and a very happy ending, complete with bubbles and Christmas crackers, they managed to recover and get everyone laughing again.
It was a hilariously silly show with plenty of anarchic lunacy. A must see whether you like Cliff or not.
Visit the Fringe Website for booking details.