Barbara Nice is the comedic alias of Janice Connolly, the actor and comedian perhaps best known for her roles in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights and Coronation Street. Barbara Nice: Mrs Nice sees Connolly take to the stage to perform a comedy set in character as Barbara, the fun loving Nan-like figure forever in search of a good time and her missing umbrella. She explains the title of the show mid-way through the set, telling the audience that if notorious drug smuggler Mr Nice - aka Howard Marks - smuggled dope, then she smuggles fun. This latter point is questionable.
Much of the show is taken up with audience interaction and games like ‘musical statues’, giving it an atmosphere stuck somewhere between prepubescent school disco and Butlins holiday camp. There is some good comedy interlaced with the forced ‘fun smuggling’, with some pithy remarks reserved for a description of Paul McCartney’s mouth, but this is mostly drowned out by irritating catch-phrases and screeching demands for the audience to join in.
The crowd seems to be split between those who can’t get enough of her particular brand of comedy and those who just don’t really get it, though admittedly some of her larger group activities get everyone smiling. A carefully choreographed stage dive goes down well and it’s hard to suppress laughter at the sheer audacity of such a manoeuvre. The fact remains, however, that such mass participatory antics seem to largely be there to replace the need for any actual comedy routine.
It feels a bit like when a determined holiday rep comes along and tries to force competitive group games on innocent swimmers in a hotel pool. If that seems like your idea of fun then this will probably be your cup of tea. If you do insist on going, bring a large group of friends and have a few drinks beforehand.
