Something Fishy

Two frightfully nice young gels are having a jolly adventure in a boat when it gets a little choppy and they decide to pull into the fishing port of Beever. So far, so Enid Blyton, as Daisy and Petunia try to find somewhere spiffing to stay.

But why does this town no longer have anything to do with fish? And where are all the children? We are now clearly deep in League of Gentlemen territory with mad townspeople turning up all over the place.

I admit my heart sank at the beginning when the silliness in the boat seemed to go on forever; I thought I was in for a very long hour. How wrong I was. Once on shore it becomes consistently funny. As Liz Hague and Kate Mooney twist their bodies into the misshapen townsfolk a rich vein of black comedy is revealed.

I loved the way they simply turned to conduct full conversations, switching effortlessly from one character to another. Their props too are a joy, the bucket of shells that turns into a birthday cake complete with candles, or the one fish that we do eventually see.

This is a jolly jape of a show, although it does stray into distinctly darker waters as it goes on. It all looks cheap and amateur at first glance but there's nothing amateur about the writing or the performances. Clearly Hague and Mooney are a couple to keep an eye on, this seemingly unsophisticated show is very clever, very funny theatre indeed.