I saw Fat Brenda's Flamin' Story last night in Harrogate, so I thought I'd give another view of it. I invited my friend Sam to come with me, and she's always up for a theatre trip, so despite not really being a Corrie fan she came along - although she did insist we had a nice tea first!
I absolutely adore Steve Huison, have loved him since I first saw him in The Full Monty, and am still gutted that he's no longer in Corrie. So when I first heard about the play, I knew I wanted to go, and hoped that it could be what I wanted it to be. Fortunately, it was.
It was a brilliant mixture of comedy and pathos, something which I feel Huison is incredibly suited to. The writing was for the most part flawless, and as Glenda said in her review of the show, for one man to perform for that long and keep the audience with him was immense. I also won't spoil you for the story, but there were several things that really stood out:
1) The taxi firm being called "Go Le Taxi" - so easily missed, but hilarious.
2) Brenda talking about Ken's kimono: "What that posh lass off the barge bought him."
3) Cliff Richard and Brenda's obsession with him: "Praise Cliff!" etc.
4) The office chair and its dodgy hydraulics.
5) Brenda's shoes - pink, with hot pink feathers.
6) Brenda's Beltin' Bingo - Eyes down, look in.
So much more - I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed so much. Fortunately a lot of the jokes were universal, so Sam did mostly understand it. Plus her mum also loves Cliff Richard, so that helped I think.
Excellent Rebecca.. and it was great to finally meet you too!
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