THE TWO MORONNIES and TOM MORSS
Dunedin Fringe Festival Club, 20 Princes St, Dunedin
06/03/2016 - 08/03/2016
Production Details
Witty new words to familiar old tunes, coupled with satirical sketches. Three blokes from Scotland give you a cabaret evening that will live long in the memory, and a show that will have anyone aged 8 to 80 (and beyond) laughing and singing along.
The Two Moronnies is a cabaret double act based in the Scottish Borders and features singer/comedians Les Morss and Tim Wilcock. The performers make a nod in terms of narrative style to a popular UK comedy/cabaret duo of the 1980s called ‘The Two Ronnies’, digging deep into a treasure trove of musical numbers and character sketches which have lain gathering dust for the past few decades.
Joined on the New Zealand leg of their World Tour by Tom Morss (a well-known UK-based opera singer), expect sophisticated wit, world play and a lot of good music. The repertoire includes tunes from Noel Coward, Flanders and Swann, Cole Porter, Gilbert and Sullivan, Kurt Weill, Madness, Abba, Queen, Tom Lehrer and many others.
Their shows have what critics have described as “real pace and energy”. The inventive use of costumes and some slick choreography means that the music is left to speak for itself, which it invariably does.
Dunedin Fringe Festival Club, 20 Princes St, Dunedin
Sun 6 Mar – Tue 8 Mar 2016
9:30pm
All Ages Licensed
$7.50 – $10.00
Get tickets »
Theatre , Musical , Comedy , Cabaret ,
1 hr
Could be more polished
Review by Nick Tipa 07th Mar 2016
I don’t quite know what I’m in for as I wander down the hill from the Fortune Theatre to the Fringe Festival Club. I’ve heard it’s a cabaret musical comedy act, which has me somewhat interested. But what eventually presents itself on stage is unexpected to say the least.
The Two Moronnies are Les Morss and Tim Wilcock. Calling Edinburgh home, the Moronnies explain that back in Scotland they have played every country town hall. With them on their tour to New Zealand and visit to the Dunedin Fringe, they also bring Tom Morss, a well-known UK-based opera singer. To complete the troupe, they have wrangled in a couple of local musicians to accompany them with their songs.
All this adds up to one quite bizarre experience. The Moronnies show consists of a number of popular songs from 40 years ago or more with parody lyrics. The subjects that they parody range from the exploits of Boris Johnson (the mayor of London) to the archetypal folk song. However, my favourite is definitely the Nandos song.
A lot of the topics fly right over the top of my head however as they are focussed for a British audience. This may seem obvious, but it would probably help for the Moronnies to realign to a New Zealand audience when bringing their show to New Zealand.
The highlight of the show for me is Tom Morss, the young operatic tenor. He is clearly a superbly talented young man and his interludes of opera and classical music provides juxtaposition to the show.
The show definitely could be more polished. Mistakes are abundant and some of the dialogue is a bit painful. However, within the mistakes is a kind of charm, and they have the audience laughing heartily at a number of points throughout the evening.
Another issue, I think, is the late starting time. The show itself is short but if it had been on earlier it may have attracted a larger crowd. I recommend this show to people who enjoy musical parodies and tame political humour. If this sounds like you, then head along to the Fringe Festival club on Monday 7th or Tuesday 8th March for a 9:30 start time to see The Two Moronnies and Tom Morrs.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments