Ollie
Stone-Lee, ‘ON Magazine’ May 1995:...
this dive into a seventies cocktail hour consisted of a series of short and
snappy pieces and although they may have presented a random slant on the proceedings,
provided variety and pace.
These sketched could really only be described as brilliantly appalling, ranging
from renditions of seventies classics from the Brotherhood of Man and Bucks
Fizz, to game shows such as 'Go Up and Down', and adverts for the periodical
'Know Your Moth'. This appealed to my bizarre sense of humour - gone were the
more subdued responses which had accompanied the other acts, and in came cheers
and roaring laughter.
Claire Ellison, Palatinate. November 1995:
Quite An Experiunce
Tokey, Doug, and Lois were typical of the pseudonyms the audience were expected
to assume last week at the excellent ‘Arthur Siphid Big Band Experience’
in the Assembly Rooms. The name badges handed out at the beginning of the show
gave adequate indication that acutely embarrassing audience participation was
an integral element of this 70’s extravaganza.
Although the audience were initially slightly bewildered by their assumed involvement,
the warm up spot soon eased our inhibitions. Val Sparkle kicked off the Embassy
Casino entertainment with a worryingly convincing performance of a blind drunk
pianist. The show consisted of musical and dramatic live entertainment. Typical
70’s snippets included a James Bond spot, and points meant prizes as members
of the audience were drafted in to complete various game show tasks such as
‘moistening the basket’.
There were also strange news snippets in which we were told that Scotland had
regrettably fallen into the North Sea. One particularly funny scene involved
all of the cast members giving a singular rendition of ‘Save All Your
Kisses For Me’ - a sure success thanks to the elaborate leg movements.
A patient in a doctors surgery with an unfortunate tendency to break out into
the respective dance routines of ‘Free’, ‘Take That’,
or ‘Blur’, each time their names slipped, turned out to be one of
the most amusing parts of the show.
.After the show, the fun continued outside where the on-stage domestic tensions
between Nelson and Val Sparkle exploded into an inebriated row for all to see.
My only regret is that this innovative show, full of original material, did
not run longer than the two nights allocated.
