UK Theatre Network

Barry Cryer – Still Alive

National Tour

Reviewed at The Customs House, South Shields

The legendary Barry Cryer was rapturously welcomed back to The Customs House, South Shields, last night to perform his brand new show, Still Alive. The promotional material promised ‘a decorous orgy of nostalgia’ and that is exactly what was delivered.

Mr Cryer, a brilliant raconteur, shared a host of fascinating and entertaining anecdotes in an intimate, conversational style which I would have been blissfully content to listen to for the full duration of the show. It was an absolute treat to hear stories about the British comedy greats, including Morecambe & Wise, Arthur Askey, Tommy Cooper and Bernie Winters to name only a few.

But, Mr Cryer is a man of many talents and he used them to the full.

In an age where stand-up comedians resort to spouting a stream of profanities to generate laughs, Barry needs only his razor-sharp wit to have the audience in stitches. His jokes were clever, original and extremely funny. His comic-timing is impeccable and looked effortless. Indeed, age does not seem to have dimmed his talent for comedy at all. He looks a very spritely 73 and the glint in his eye seems to be getting brighter.

His material is contemporary and topical; no-one is safe from his scrutiny, not even Hillary Clinton, Heather Mills or Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The refreshing thing is that Mr Cryer succeeds in being satirical without being needlessly cruel or personal. Here is a true gentleman who has the audience firmly in the palm of his hand.

Interspersed with the comedy and the reminiscing were some very entertaining songs. Whilst poking fun at Cliff Richard’s Millennium Prayer (The Lord’s Prayer set to the music of Auld Lang Syne, for those who don’t know!), Barry delivered Amazing Grace to the tune of House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals. Fantastic!

The musical highlight for me, though, was a contemporary version of Cole Porter’s Let’s Do It, which was absolutely amazing. So clever!

Barry was supported, on the piano, by the renowned Musical Director Colin Sell who also performed a couple of numbers. My favourite, Why Do The Wrong People Sing?, lamented the fact that, all too often, those who think they that they are musically gifted are tone deaf.

The sign of a good comedian (apart from being able to make people laugh, of course!) is the ability to laugh at themselves, and Mr Cryer certainly does not shy away from sending himself up. When talking about his own mortality he mused that, ‘These days, I don’t even buy green bananas’ in case he dies before they ripen!

My message to the wonderful Mr Barry Cryer OBE would be: ‘Go and buy some green bananas . . . you’ll be around for a long while yet!

Steve Burbridge.