Vicki and Pat in Fuerteventura

3
Reviewer's Rating

Your reviewer had never heard of Fuerteventura, but it turns out to be a holiday resort in the Canary Islands, popular for package holidays, and indeed all-inclusive package holidays. That was the attraction for Pat, the blonde thirty-something (currently of Market Harborough) who stumbles onto the sun lounger next to Vicki, a brunette of similar age from Yorkshire who is addicted to mindfulness apps and has brought the autobiography of Kimberley Walsh as her holiday reading. Your reviewer had never heard of Kimberley Walsh either (she turns out to be a member of Girls Aloud, but then you may have known that), nor does he know what an ‘app’ is, never mind mindfulness! But despite his ignorance of what is going on in the world of smartphones and Facebook, he thoroughly enjoyed this show, where the dialogue is as smart as the phones, and a quizzical look is taken at the way we are now. There may not be a bedroom (though there are sun loungers by a pool), but this show is as funny as a bedroom farce.

Theatre 503 perches on top of The Latchmere public house, which serves an excellent array of beer, very welcome during the current heatwave. With a running time of under an hour, this two-hander is just right for a summer whose temperature reduces the attention span. It pays to pay attention to the repartee between the two protagonists, which is very smart, and goes on at a cracking pace. The goings-on offstage blend in well too.

You’ve missed your chance to see it at The Latchmere, I’m afraid, as it was only on there for two nights. But the show will be coming to other venues, and is well worth an hour of anybody’s time to watch these young women keeping their ends up and – yes – even singing aloud, fit to be the envy of Kimberley Walsh!