Review: The Chuckle Brothers, Pirates Of The River Rother 2, In Stranger Tights. York Grand Opera House (From York Press)

Review: The Chuckle Brothers, Pirates Of The River Rother 2, In Stranger Tights. York Grand Opera House

9:10am Tuesday 21st February 2012 in Theatre By Robert Brookes

A broad South Yorkshire “u-llo!”, then it’s a roller coaster of custard pies in the face and toe-curlingly corny gags – it can only mean Rotherham’s finest, The Chuckle Brothers, are back in port, this time with a shipload of piratical nonsense.

ChuckleVision stars Barry and Paul, with big brothers Brian and Jimmy Patton as the Admiral and menacing Black Eye, brought their cheesy, often cringe-making, but ultimately madcap and harmless comedy back to York to warm up a chilly February afternoon.

In an age of video games, internet downloads, Facebook and Twitter, acts like this shouldn’t really survive. But judging by Sunday’s show, there is still an audience for this seaside summer season crossed with Christmas panto-style fare.

This sequel proved more Cuckoo than Sparrow, and you’d have searched in vain for anything resembling a plot. Maybe sometimes, as in the jungle café sequence, the comedy set pieces lacked a little pace and the ad libs didn’t always hit the spot – but who cares?

There were enough highlights of sheer stupidity to make the proceedings worthwhile. I particularly enjoyed the rampage through the audience by King Pong, the gorilla.

Things picked up after the interval, even if it was collapsing scenery that brought the biggest laugh. The four brothers’ pirate version of The 12 Days Of Christmas, and the surreal musical finale, a sort of 1990s “old school” techno Ibiza rave number, closed the afternoon on a high note.