Underbelly
Tweedy is a lovable, punky and easily distracted clown, doing his best to put on a show while his props fail to co-operate. Both me and my young daughter were big fans of the results.
Tweedy produces magic from a scrappy stage set of household objects: a dustpan gobbles a handful of props and his shoe keeps disappearing and turning up in impossible places. In a spoof of the ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ a mop becomes lodged in thin air, hovering at chest height and seemingly immovable.
Ongoing is his strained relationship with Siri, who misunderstands instructions and chips in with unwanted advice on ventriloquism. In a sweet switch in tempo – and with typical absurdity – Tweedy conducts a version of ‘Singing in the Rain’ with members of the audience on cowbells.
There’s loads of traditional clowning in this show but always with a twist, and a lot of originality. I enjoyed watching a guitar and harmonica give birth, requiring a volunteer parent from the audience to help deliver the tiny, crying baby instruments. And my daughter liked the monkey puppet pooing out a Union Jack into the ‘magic toilet’ (we talked about it a lot on the bus home!).
The show is an all-round family pleaser. Older kids were laughing loudly at the jokes, but enough of the slapstick, acrobatics and understated spectacle landed with my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to keep her completely engaged throughout too. I was amazed to find the biscuit I’d given her as a precaution on the way in was only half nibbled when the hour was up.
There’s lots for adults to laugh at too. Behind the clumsy clown act that gets the kids rooting for him, Tweedy is a highly skilled performer delivering a show for all ages.
( Written by Becky Brewis )
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