Review : Slapstick at HOME Theatre Manchester

After our visit to the Lowry and Hope Mill Theatre last week, we finished the week off with a visit to HOME theatre to see Slapstick.

I prefer not to read too much about shows we are going to see in an attempt to avoid having a preconceived idea of what the production is going to be like. Therefore other than knowing Slapstick won the Spirit Of The Fringe Award 2017 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I didn’t really know what to expect.

My husband and I took along our two eldest kids (aged 7 and 9) and the show promised to be fun for all the family. I’d never visited HOME before but it was easy to get to (other than the dreaded Mancunian Way!) and parking was available right next to the theatre.

The actual show began before the official start time, as we were greeted by one of the show’s stars on our way in. We also saw the cast preparing the stage ready for the show in their own unique way! They were already in character and amused the audience by interacting with us.

The show started with a rousing song and I instantly decided the show wasn’t going to be anything like what I expected. I somehow envisaged very little, if any, talking or singing, almost like a Charlie Chaplin silent movie. However music played a huge part in the show.

The show starred five hugely talented men from the Netherlands. They all played countless instruments during the performance which was impressive in itself. Add to that the singing and comedic elements and it was honestly theatre perfection. Each musician brought their own personalities to the show and played various characters throughout.

Some of the jokes in the first half went over my sons’ heads but that was definitely due to their young age. The second half however had them giggling away as there was much more physical comedy which they loved. I personally found a lot of the humour was more daft than slapstick, as it had a clever subtlety to it that sometimes traditional slapstick lacks. I definitely found it much, much funnier than I anticipated.

My husband isn’t exactly an avid theatre goer. He finds most musicals boring (too much singing!) and would prefer a good film than a theatre production. However at the end of Slapstick, amid the standing ovation, he confided it was the best thing he had ever seen. I’m not sure I could argue with that statement!

It was clever, witty, and entertaining from start to finish and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

You can catch Slapstick at HOME until 22nd December.

We were offered complimentary tickets but as always opinions are my own.