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THE KING OF NORWAY'S
BICYCLE Whatever happened to sophisticated cabaret? Somewhere between Noel Coward and the present day it has been forgotten, buried in the ethereal mists of time along with Advocat Snowballs and Crackerjack. All is not lost, however, as on Sunday night two brave young men, honest and true, plunged themselves wholeheartedly into bridging this cultural chasm. Mr Alex (Jason Buck) and Mr Lloyd (Ioan Reed-Aspley), two Creative Consultants with god-like auras (and egos the size of your average solar system), conducted a seminar peppered with wit and song. The topic? It is best to say that their discourse took an holistic approach to subject manner, and in covering many things pointed to the one universal truth - Style is Everything, Attitude is all. In an atmosphere reminiscent of The Garrick Club, these two icons, resplendent in de rigeur suits, took the audience through such cultural essentials as The Mystique of the Ninja, how best to impersonate the dancing style of your favourite animated star, then rounded it up with that old travellers essential Latin for Tourists. Their smugness continued to know no bounds throughout. Some of the greatest comedy came from the bizarre juxtaposition of character and subject; a guide to the art of contract killing becomes alarmingly funny when delivered by two men who, rather than stooping to vulgar violence, would be more likely to challenge you to Crumpets at Dawn. Similarly, a raffle, the very epitome of naffness, was conducted (with prizes of Star Wars merchandise and cans of Special Brew) in the middle of these classy proceedings for no apparent reason. It was the songs, however, that enchanted the audience to the greatest extent. Here their truly chimeric nature - as a cross between Flanders & Swann, Fry & Laurie, The Right Size and Open University sociology lecturers - shone through, and it was a real pity that the emphasis had been placed primarily on the dialogue. While their stage presence and characterisation were both extremely good, there were times when the dialogue slightly flagged, or failed to reach a punchline. Also, rather than rejoicing in the randomness of the range of subject matter, or linking them together, it sometimes appeared as if segments had been cobbled together in a slightly haphazard fashion. Still, the next performance is not until the 17th of October, and hopefully by this time these glitches should have been ironed out. You could do a lot worse that spending an hour basking in the radiance of these cultural deities. And what does any of it have to do with the King of Norway's Bicycle? Nothing whatsoever. Style is Everything, Attitude is All. Fiona Lidy |