Latest: The Two Moronnies contribution to the US Election debate is on YouTube https://youtu.be/l81fMdR57gE. Best wishes everyone
The Two Moronnies
Cabaret is a genre that’s been undergoing something of a revival in recent years. Now recognised in its own right by the largest arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Fringe, its popularity is spreading further down the performing arts food chain. The Two Moronnies, a double act featuring Les Morss and Tim Wilcock, makes a nod in terms of narrative style to The Two Ronnies and digs deep into that treasure trove of musical numbers and character sketches which have lain gathering dust in the attic for the past few decades. Their shows contain two fifty minute sets of the well-loved but possibly forgotten and introduce modern (and, at times, quite biting and satirical) lyrics to tunes that anyone from the age of 8 to 80 can hum along to. Recent targets for their rapier wit have included the customer service ethics of a well- known budget airline, jobsworths in all walks of life and the desire of a certain person to become the ruler of his own country.
Backed by the redoubtable Jean Arulanantham on piano Alan Ferguson on guitar and an assortment of local musicians from the Carlops Jazz Band, they gallop through songs made famous by Noel Coward, Flanders and Swann, Cole Porter, Peter Sellers, Gilbert and Sullivan, Kurt Weill, Victoria Wood, Tom Lehrer and many others. And the mellifluous, melancholic soprano tones of Annie Patch
provides a nice counter-balance to the energetic, almost frenetic style of the two male voices. The shows have what critics have described as “real pace and energy”. And their inventive use of costumes and some slick choreography means that the music is left to speak for itself, which it invariably does.The Two Moronnies will both entertain and amuse. And they come free of charge! They provide the backdrop for you to raise money for any good cause that you want to support, be it local, national or international. Concerts have seen charities from their home village of Carlops through to distant parts of Africa benefit, with each concert raising between £600 and £2000. You can find details of the entertainers and their material on the following pages. The material works best in village halls and small theatres as the artists like to make the audience feel part of the event, rather than just have them sit there and listen. In terms of fund raising, what seems to work best is a low entrance fee (in the region of £5) combined with a pile of gift aid envelopes which you invite the audience to fill if they feel they have been royally entertained. You would normally expect to raise double the “gate money” with this pricing scheme. |