Skinner and Bell: Where Are Dave And Dave?
Note: This review is from 2007
Starting as they mean to go on, the pair kick off with a daft joke about Uncle Brian’s favourite cow committing moo-icide and then move from room to room searching for the squeaky voiced Little Mojito, plus the escaped Bengal tiger Uncle Brian only just remembered to warn them about. Along the way they encounter more and more bizarre people until, in true Wizard of Oz style, they finally discover the keeper of a tortoise in a box.
By far the most amusing set pieces in this silly adventure are, oddly, hair related. Skinner and Bell don frightening wigs to play Tina Turner and Cher on the phone to each other in irrelevantly hilarious scenes largely present, it seems, as a vehicle for puns on their hits. And the Hall of Beards could almost be one of the better Python sketches, coupled with shades of Douglas Adams.
Elsewhere the comedy is averagely amusing. Several comedy stereotypes are used to cartoonish, yet inoffensive, effect - the evil Germans, fleecing Romanies and poor orphaned Mexican boys, with some dodgy accents thown in. There are a few cock jokes to keep the kids happy and it’s always nice to see a little corpsing to enhance a double act’s on-stage relationship.
Reviewed by: Marissa Burgess
Review date: 1 Jan 2007
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett