“They’re two of a kind, like peas in a pod…”
The 1961 hit for Johnny Mercer and Bobby Darin opens a show which harks back to the glory days of the comedy double act.
Think Morecambe and Wise, Cannon and Ball; maybe even Laurel and Hardy.
Not that Mercer and Darin ever justified that billing, having been brought together for a one-off studio album, Two of a Kind… and it’s debatable how close Darren and Ginger really are as their story unfolds.
They were once a tight team, we deduce, but Ginger (played by Andrew Robson) wandered off.
Where to?
He seems reluctant to spill the beans to erstwhile comedy partner Darren (Andrew McLeod), having made his equally bamboozling reappearance.
The question now is whether the pair can settle artistic differences and get the show back in front of an audience.
But there’s more to this than showbiz nostalgia as you’d expect from Steve Gilroy, writer and director, whose fondness for “investigative theatre” has seen him delving into the likes of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (In the Middle of the West) and the feelings of people affected by war in Afghanistan and Iraq (Motherland – predating by several years the unrelated BBC sitcom).
As we smile at the pair with the funny hats and touching faith in age-old gags, we are also invited to dwell on the challenges faced by people who don’t fit the educational mould, and also their parents and carers.
They’ll be well known to all at The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company, run by and for people with learning difficulties, which is celebrating – as we should too – its 40th anniversary.
The Lawnmowers co-present this show with Steve’s Murmur Theatre and the two Andrews are seasoned members of its ensemble, as you can tell by their impeccable comic timing.
But in particular this is the story of Andrew McLeod and the extraordinary efforts his late parents went to in order to have his educational needs properly attended to and secure his future.
Several years in the making, it was to have been about the three of them but the death of the parents in quick succession prompted a rethink and gave rise to the charmingly bitter-sweet play now set before us.
The tough stuff, about how Darren (for which read Andrew) was bullied at school, deemed “naughty” and sent to a place for bad lads where he suffered even more, emerges in his moments of recollection.
So does his parents’ determined battle with authority, notably their ambush (no other word aptly describes it) of a director of education whose refusal to meet them resulted in a long and dispiriting wait.
These memories are stirred as the reunited comedy pair mull over the recordings made by Darren’s fictional late dad, the man who provided the material for and masterminded the old double act.
The result, charming at times, bracing at others, gets to the heart of what The Lawnmowers have been about these past four decades.
It’s a 75-minute showcase for the talents of the two ensemble members, and also Jake Jarratt who not only plays Scott, brought into the routine as ‘special guest’ to perform his brilliant Tommy Cooper skit, but fleshes out some of Darren’s tough childhood memories.
These sudden flashes contrast vividly with the genial bickering of a pair of old troupers as they prepare once more to venture under the spotlight.
And as for the title, it’s perfect, evoking the message of seasonal cinematic favourite It’s a Wonderful Life, that every life has value and that every remark, action or gesture can have unforeseen consequences.
You can catch It’s a Wonderful Us at Queen’s Hall, Hexham, on Thursday, November 12, or Arts Centre Washington on Thursday, November 19 – and further dates are being lined up for 2027.