Strife in the Studio --Victoria Hall

UNICORN in underpants and a Mackerel in a macintosh were just two of the characters unveiled for HYT's latest offering at Victoria Hall on Wednesday.

Paintings coming to life and warring with each other in an artist's studio was the main theme of this piece -- or at least I think it was.

There were a lot of ideas, notions and confusing concepts sprinkled into the script and, in truth, it was a little difficult to follow at times.

That is not to say all the ideas failed -- or that the play as a whole didn't have merit.

The songs of Jon Crossley and Mick Greenwood are worthy of genuine praise.

They have harnessed a perfect nack in creating songs for the stage -- be it the slower solo efforts like Move On or musical numbers for the entire cast like Strife in the Studio.

Inventive, funny lyrics really brought the play to life and seemed the highlight of the audience's evening.

And there was the usual good mix of puns and one-liners thrown into the script.

But unlike the last HYT production I saw based on apartheid and woman's suffrage, the story was never really strong enough to hook you for two hours plus.

Several characters shone though including Elephant in emeralds (Rachel Patti), Gadfly with a gadget (Jessica Copperthwaite), Leopard in a Leotard (Simon Wright) and Chris Greenwood as Crocodile in a cravat!

Good fun for younger audience members, one youngster summed up the play in a single word to her mother -- "excellent".

l Runs until Saturday, 7.30pm. Call 01274 832438 or visit for Willis Walker Sport for tickets/details.

Stuart Roberts