No jokes were cheap during this cost of living crisis! Act II’s annual Revue held a mirror to a world of haves and have nots… while also taking a satirical swipe at South Holland life
Few things set the tone for an evening quite like a sex pest medley.
From the opening bar of opening night it was clear that this year’s ACT II Revue would again pull no punches as 2023’s roll call of the good, the bad and the ghastly found themselves mercilessly mocked.
Milking laughs from perverts may sound like an easy opener, but this was a show where pitch-perfect satire stung. No jokes were cheap in a cost of living crisis where every penny counts.
The show’s underlying theme painted a world of division; a nadir where everyday people face heartbreaking struggles to make ends meet or reach a better life while the rich keep getting richer – and away with it.
The opulence of old money millionaires, nouveau riche billionaires and hate-spewing influencers was juxtaposed with skits highlighting strike action and this nation’s black and white take on migration.
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One way or another the apocalypse is coming, and we won’t escape it because we’ll be stuck in traffic at a certain Spalding roundabout.
Highlights included unique takes on 101 Dalmations, Winnie the Pooh and Steamboat Willie, sketches which wove darkness through characters associated with childhood comfort, while few of the nation’s best-loathed politicians came through unscathed.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an Act II Revue without local lampooning. This year we were treated to MP Sir John Hayes, council leader Nick Worth and a £35,000 ‘public toilet’. Although, for clarity, not together.
The Grim Reaper again made his appearance as the show reminded us of this year’s tragic losses... Tina Turner, Paul O’Grady and Laddies’ Ices, to name but a few.
Death may not have got his hands on everybody, but time doesn’t always heal as proven by this year’s take on Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, portrayed very differently to the untouchable queue-jumping daytime golden couple who barged there way past the crowd to open last year’s show.
But as we were delivered this stream of grotesques, the Revue – as always written by Karl and Charlotte Gernert, who also directed – once again offered hope for the future by ensuring the audience produced that wonderful human trait of finding comedy from tragedy, especially when it felt guilty to do so.
The madcap DIY approach added an extra element of humour as Karl and fellow performers Penelope Harrall, Olivia Black and Jo Wheatley breathlessly rampaged around ACT II’s Clay Lake home in a whirlwind of Who’s Line Is It Anyway meets Screenwipe with some delightfully-perfect props. Stagewipe, if you will.
No culture war-fuelled sides were taken as Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, King Charles, Prince Harry and all the candidates in this year’s St Paul’s by-election found themselves in the firing line.
No punches were pulled, but nothing hit harder than the Israel-Palestine conflict delivered through the pen of Julia Donaldson.
Act II’s Revue will continue tonight (Thursday, December 14) from 8pm.
There will be a double bill on Friday (7pm and 9pm) with the final show staged on Saturday (7pm).
Tickets cost £7 and are available from tickets@act2online.co.uk.
