We weren’t new to the comedy of Living Spit, the musical comedy team which has built up quite a reputation and firm fan base across the South West. Our introduction had been the hilarious and amazing Adolf & Winston just before Christmas, something, looking back we described as ‘comic genius that turns the Horrible Histories style of comedy all the way up to 11’. Yes, it was superb.
So when we found out that the company was bringing its latest opus, Puss In Boots – More Than A Feline, to one of our favourite Wiltshire venues, the always wonderful Pounds Arts in Corsham, it was ‘book the tickets and cancel everything else for the evening’ time.
If you haven’t been to Pound Arts before, it’s a great arts, theatre, activity and cafe (the mushroom and lentil stew is amazing!) centre on the edge of the town, complete with its own car park and a very nice bar. Despite it being a very chilly Friday evening, the theatre was almost full and ready for a laugh.
Like Adolf & Winston, Puss In Boots is a two person play, with Stu Mcloughlin and Bev Rudd taking on loads of different parts, although mainly, a talking a cat in fancy footwear and a love struck queen. And just to make it significantly more challenging and even funnier, the whole thing is performed in rhyming couplets.
From the starts we loved it, grown-ups and smaller ones (aged 12 and 11) alike. To get a basic hold of the plot, we start with a couple of house mates, one of whom is a cocky cat in boots who is partial to a spot of Irish dancing, and his mate, Tristan Sprout, who can’t pay the rent on their abode and, with the telly sold, have to figure out a way to raise a few quid.
So like you do, they decide to hunt the ogre that it terrifying the area and claim the reward money to turn their fortunes around.
What follows is a right laugh – daft songs, ridiculous characters, a little obligatory audience participation some slushy romantic stuff and just a touch of Irish dancing as well. Best of all, we all loved it, as – it appeared – did the rest of audience. At just an hour long – plus an intermission – it was easy perfectly paced to keep younger ones interested, while also keeping us oldies entertained. The rhyming was superb, the skills on show fantastic, the plot very funny and the whole thing just a great way to encourage local theatre.
Also, there was pretty useful strategies shared just in case you are ever faced with bettering a lumbering giant from fantasy land, so really, it’s a winner all around.
Puss In Boots is just the latest in our ever growing series of visits to Pound Arts, which has so far taken in comedy, theatre, music and mushroom and lentil stews, and we’ve loved them all.
For more about upcoming events at Pound Arts, go to poundarts.org.uk