Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Roy Brandon, Eithne Browne, Danny Burns, Suzanne Collins, Carl Chase, Paul Duckworth, Emily Linden, Andrew Schofield, Francis Tucker.

Two’s company, two is the sound of laughter taken to great heights, two is a sequel to which a comedy penned by the superb duo of Dave Kirby and Nicky Alt is completely on top of its game and is one that surely will be seen as a true worthy successor to a production worth its weight in Liverpool gold.

Brick Up 2: The Wrath of Ann Twacky is not just any sequel, it has enormous responsibility wedged in between each finely delivered line, it has the duty to be as good as the much loved original Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels, a play that is arguably the finest home grown comedy to hit the Liverpool streets in the last decade, certainly the most loved amongst the home crowd and the influx of many visitors that have made their way to the Royal Court across the years.

The responsibility is keenly felt but for the entire cast, the two writers and the musicians in the pit, it is one that is steeped in honest; sequels don’t often work, they lose touch with the very ethos of what people loved about the characters or the situation in the first place and yet like the recently released cinematic offering T2: Trainspotting, time has not taken or distorted the memories of what drove many to levels of enjoyment or pleasure in the first place.

Brick Up 2: The Wrath of Ann Twacky is a delight, pure and simple, a battering on the funny bone that lingers well into the next morning and finds its way to making your evening one of the best you will experience.

The delight is felt because both Nicky Alt and Dave Kirby have shown how much they care about the characters, the past of the show and triumph that the cast brings to the show. It is also a particular wonderful show for the growth that is entailed within it, the subtle moments of evolution which make any sequel worth its salt eminently watchable. To see the enormously funny Francis Tucker take his character of one of the Cheshire ladies, Liz Card, to new heights and being supported in turn by the sensational Eithne Browne and Andrew Schofield, is a moment to treasure.

The Wirral is revolting, it is up in arms about the tunnel that has stopped the flow of people between the two sides of the Mersey, now the fury of the dark side is unleashed and Ann Twacky is taking on everyone to stop the rot.

A production that has everything that the much loved original held out to the audience, one that has not lost any of the charm, style or humour of the innovative and inspirational beginnings. Do not miss Brick Up 2: The Wrath of Ann Twacky, it is the continuation of a great love story.

Ian D. Hall