Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood – Two Brewers

Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood at Two Brewers, London.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

The year 2016 was not great for the entertainment industry as it lost many of its big names. David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, to name but a few. It also saw the passing of one of this country’s best-loved comediennes, Victoria Wood. Although to call her simply a comedienne is to do her a disservice. Wood was also an accomplished pianist and composer, whose work had featured extensively on TV and on stage. She was also a talented actor, whether appearing in serious dramas such as Housewife 49 or Eric and Ernie or in comedy-dramas such as Pat and Margaret or the self-penned Dinnerladies. In terms of achievements, versatility and sheer talent, Wood could be considered a successor to Noel Coward and her legion of devoted fans are a testament to how much she was loved and is missed.

One such adoring fan is the cabaret performer Paulus, who has created this tribute to his idol entitled Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood. Originally scheduled to open earlier this year, the show had to understandably be postponed until now, where it opened for a socially-distanced staging at the Two Brewers in Clapham. Written by Paulus and featuring the ever-reliable Michael Roulston on keyboard, Looking For Me Friend is an endearing, personal tribute featuring music and lyrics by Wood and reminiscences from Paulus about his relationship to her work.

Paulus, perhaps best known to the public as the acerbic judge on TV’s talent show All Together Now, is currently celebrating 30 years in entertainment. He freely admits that Victoria Wood and her quirky style of observational comedy was an early influence on his own career, and was in fact how he first got to know Roulston. Together they would quote snatches of classic lines from Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV, her seminal 1980s comedy series. Paulus also reminisces that when he was struggling for work as a young actor, he wrote to celebrities for advice and Wood sent him a cheque for £50! What happened to that money is another story.

This gig is a warm, witty, whistle-stop introduction to Wood’s songs, punctuated by more than a handful of those one-liners. Prawns; grey eggs; two soups, elicit gales of laughter from fans in the audience, but it is through Paulus’ interpretation of Wood’s songs that he genuinely touches a nerve. Whether it’s the boisterous revel of ‘At The Chippy’ or the riotous ‘Saturday Night’, Paulus masters the often complex phrasing without losing the humour in each song. He also reminds us of the more introspective comedy writing that Wood was famous for like the ‘Things Would Never Have Worked’ and ‘Pam’, both of which have an almost bittersweet edge to them.

For a finale Paulus bravely attempts Wood’s musical comedy masterpiece ‘The Ballad of Barry and Freda’. It’s one of Wood’s best-known numbers and probably did a hell of a lot of good for the sale of Woman’s Weekly in the 1990s. Paulus holds his nerve and delivers the number with relish and more than a little relief.

Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood is directed with another cabaret stalwart Sarah-Louise Young and will hopefully go on to entertain many more audiences. It is currently scheduled in November at the Crazy Coqs and further dates outside the capital. If you are a fan of Wood, or simply feel the need for some uplifting, live entertainment, then this is a must-see.

Paul Vale