Once upon a time, Worbey and Farrell played piano to diners in posh hotels. Sick of their inimitable talents being unappreciated, they turned to Comedy and it took them under its wing. Now, they perform a pleasing medley of piano and stand-up to more accommodating audiences. The high-octane pair burst onto the stage, seat themselves in front of the grand piano and begin belting out the theme tune to The Simpsons. Next thing you know, they’re impersonating Jules Holland and Elton John before performing expert renditions of Bach.Watching Worbey and Farrell tickle and tease the keys is like witnessing an orgy: it’s hard to tell where one body begins and another ends, with appendages overlapping and slapping liberally against one another, yet never losing their rhythm. An ability to finger the ivories at lightning-fast speed does not make for comedy gold however, a liberal dose of humour is also required. Thankfully, Worbey and Farrell duly oblige. It’s all very slapstick admittedly, the sort of stuff that would have gone down a treat in music halls a century ago. As Vaudevillian as that may be, the pair nevertheless have their moments - mixing a margarita while playing the piano and riding roughshod over classical numbers by seeding them with extracts from Frosty the Snowman. Having mastered the art of playing piano in the cartoon style of Tom and Jerry, Worbey and Farrell also bicker like the pair, hijacking one another’s songs while their dextrous digits dance a merry jig across the keys. While it would be wrong to judge an audience’s tastes on the grounds of age alone, this is entertainment for over-fifties. If you’ve yet to reach that milestone however, it’s still a fairly entertaining way to spend an hour. Alternatively, you may prefer to go and see Adam Kay instead. He only plays at half the speed but his songs are twice as funny. The show flags after a while, with Worbey and Farrell seemingly unsure of whether to purport themselves as an all-out comedy act or serious musicians. In spite of their redoubtable talents, do we really need to hear the can-can played at twice the speed of light? There’s showmanship and then there’s just showing off.
