THE FAMILY HAS A CHUCKLE, OR IN FACT TWO

A TROY ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW

If you’d told me ten years ago where I’d be spending this Friday afternoon I would have laughed. Laughed at you that is, rather than laughed at the event. However having an eight year old son does at times change one’s entertainment choices. So Friday lunchtime saw the Troy family get into my car for the short journey across to Felixstowe and its Spa Pavilion. And what were we going to see there? None other than the Chuckle Brothers in “Chuckle Trek, the Lost Generation”. Now this viewing did come with a recommendation – from Mrs Troy no less, who had previously taken Troy Junior last year to see the Chuckle Brothers at the Ipswich Regent Theatre. She came back full of praise for them. I’ve watched them a few times with Troy Junior on the TV and must admit I have chuckled at them more than I expected.

It was a beautiful spring-like afternoon at Felixstowe. The Spa Pavilion sits on the seafront at Felixstowe and today the sea was calm and the sun was shining. It looked quite tropical in fact:

We had a picnic lunch, skimmed a few flat stones into the sea then bought some popcorn and settled down in the auditorium. I looked around, the average age was seven or eight, with a sprinkling of dads and many more mums. The lights went down and various space theme tunes were played and the show began. I won’t spoil the “plot” but Capt. James T Burke of the USS Exercise is short of crew. The Chuckle Brothers, Paul and Barry, are beamed up onboard, they boldly go where no one has gone for some while, they cause mayhem along the way but ultimately defeat the enemy robots lead by Dark Wader. It did what it said on the tin – we chuckled. In fact we laughed a lot, both the kids and the parents. It was very silly but in a pleasingly silly way. At one stage they invited three fathers and one mother to join them on stage. Mrs Troy and I slid down in our chairs whilst Troy Junior pointed to us. We were relieved not to be chosen. With the slapstick that followed we were increasingly relieved. At the end of that scene, when they said the four volunteers would each be getting a Suzuki moped, surplus due to the recession, we were disappointed rather than relieved.

Troy enjoyed himself, Mrs Troy enjoyed herself and Troy Junior enjoyed himself. What a pleasant way to spend a school half-term afternoon. If you are looking for a matinee show to entertain your young children you could do a lot worse than to boldly go along to watch the Chuckle Brothers. They are doing a nationwide tour.