I have loved Willy Russell's writing for as long as I've been aware he was the author of 'Blood Brothers', 'Educating Rita' and 'Shirley Valentine'.  On the strength of this I went to see him as part of the Mersey poets where I fell under the spell of his writing and his voice. His ability to paint pictures with words is a talent I both admire and envy.  There are those who can write the prose but, to my mind, few who can recite or perform it successfully as well and both Mr Russell and Tim Firth can.

I did not immediately recognise Tim Firth's name but certainly aware of the wealth of work he has written, including ‘Neville’s Island’, ‘Calendar Girls’ and ‘Our House’.  Together with an accompanying band of five musicians and singers, put on an entertaining programme of poetry, prose and musical numbers, which in turn amuse, delight and fascinate the audience. As I have said before both men have the ability of painting pictures with words and the blend of styles and tempos they display in this production has developed into a show you could watch and enjoy over and over again.  To help you do this both men have made CD’s, which are on sale and can be autographed after the show.

My personal favourite is the section from 'Blood Brothers' but it isn’t long enough and doesn’t include 'I’m Not Saying a Word' which is my personal favourite and would love to hear Willy performing it.

I love Willy Russell's writing and the chance to hear him perform again is one I am looking forward to it is just a pity he is here for such a short time. Not having seen Tim Firth perform I cant make any comments. The show includes a 7 piece band and is described as a magical mix of music and comedy.

Fringe Programme page number;  not in 

Company; Willy Russell and Tim Firth

Venue

V 33,  Pleasance Grand

Dates

21st  to  30th  August  2004

Times

15-00  to  16-30 Aug 27th & 28th,  

17-30  to  19-00  all other dates

Comedy 2004

Music 2004

Other 2004

Theatre 2004

Musicals 2004