The Old Married Couple may be married but they’re certainly not old. Playing Dixieland jazz with a vaudevillian twist, there’s more than just the music to entertain. Their dynamic is a classic one; the mischievous husband being reined in by the slightly condescending wife, but it’s done with a knowing wink and a certain sexual frisson. At one point, the husband’s execution is spared due to his apparent posterior charms and the wife runs off for a brief offstage affair that leaves the husband a little dejected rather than enraged.
The Old Married Couple invite us to join them for a dance and a drink into the wee hours as, for them, the show never seems to end.
It’s a cheeky show with lots of audience involvement and plenty of laughs. Onstage we have the titular couple alongside double bass and percussion. In the audience, the extended cast features the best Charlie Chaplin impersonator I’ve ever seen live. He holds character for the entire show, mugging and causing subtle mischief as the show progresses before finally stealing the spotlight during a solo from the show’s resident diva.
There’s a real sense of planned chaos throughout the performance and a very big grey area between what’s scripted and what’s ad-libbed. Songs seems to happen spontaneously and objects are launched into the audience whilst kazoos are played and slide whistles blown to create a genuine party atmosphere. This continues over the last song and into the night as the Old Married Couple invite us to join them for a dance and a drink into the wee hours as, for them, the show never seems to end.
