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Hello Possums! Eat Pray Laugh Review Milton Keynes Theatre

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This week, in one of the most anticipated tours to visit MK Theatre in recent memory, the inimitable Barry Humphries kicked off the UK Leg of his Farewell Tour – Eat Pray Laugh.  It’s rare to be in the audience of a show and get that feeling that you’re watching something special and unique… In fact, it’s probably not since watching Julie Andrews at the 02 Arena that I really got that certain shiver down my spine… There was a feeling that I was witnessing the end of an era, and what an ending it was!  If it really is his final tour, then he certainly went out with a bang. It’s not often that I laugh out loud pretty much consistently through a show, but Humphries well and truly tickled my funnybone.

Act 1 begins with Les Patterson.  To paraphrase, and substantially clean up the language of Sir Les, “If you’re looking for political correctness, then you can…..kindly go elsewhere.”  The language is blue, the jokes are filthy, the content is enough to offend every race, creed and colour and if you sit in the stalls, beware, you may get wet.  But would be have it ANY other way?  A couple of really laugh out loud and applause worthy moments from Les. He segues neatly into a couple of other characters, including Sandy Stone (deceased.)  It was unexpected and – for me – entirely welcome – that Sandy’s monologue was more sentimental and moving than it was funny.  Some of the audience were clearly unsure of this swift change of tack, with nervous bouts of laughter coming at some of the more poignant moments,   For me though, very well positioned and performed.

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Act 2 of course hands the stage over to the Giga-Star herself, Dame Edna Everage.  Quite simply, I can’t praise her highly enough.  She owns the stage and most of the audience in the front row almost immediately, and commands an outstanding comedy performance. If this really is the last we’re seeing of the Australia’s finest export, then it really is a loss to showbiz. Her performance is laugh a minute, and involves some truly hilarious audience participation, fun musical numbers (supported by a great chorus line) and yes, you’ve guessed it, a gladiola or two… Standing ovations all round, and richly deserved.

With echoes of that other great Dame, much like Julie Andrews’ apologetic speak-singing O2 performance, Humphries was certainly showing signs of perhaps not being as sharp as he once was – his reliance on two large autocues on the front of the stage was heavy and his train of thought was derailed on several occasions.  But, this really doesn’t take anything away from the performance. To compare him to another showbiz great, he has a similar affliction as Bruce Forsyth on Strictly Come Dancing – when he’s on autocue, he has an occasional tendency to miss the mark – but get him into his element of ad-libbing with the crowd and really playing his character and he remains up there as a truly world class performer.  (I’m still laughing now about Jenny with the “cream” bedroom…just one of Edna’s audience targets at last night’s show)

With shades of Danny La Rue and the musical hall greats, Barry Humphries closes the show with a sincere, watery-eyed thankyou to the audience.  If you don’t see this show, you really are missing something special.

Eat Pray Laugh plays Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 26th October, before visiting Cardiff and Edinburgh, followed by a Christmas residency at the London Palladium.

More details on the tour available at http://www.dameednafarewell.com, and tickets available for the Milton Keynes leg at http://www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes.



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