Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Jake Abraham, Roy Brandon, Eithne Browne, Danny Burns, Suzanne Collins, Paul Duckworth, Andrew Schofield, Francis Tucker.

Band: Howard Gray, Danny Burns, Adam Keast, Francis Tucker.

Revenge is a pudding best served piping hot and with all the flavour, texture and fruit mixed together to be delivered with precision, timing and a smile so wide that once served it is the talk of the town, and with the score settled and the laughter bellowing all around.

A woman’s wrath knows no bounds, for Ann Twacky, leader of the Cheshire housewives, scorner of all things Scouse and so recently left distraught by the bricking up of the Mersey Tunnels, revenge on those who caused the problems, The Kingsway Three, is not only sweet, but one in which is of the upmost importance. Those that seek vengeance had not only better bring two spades into which bury the souls of those that enraged them but should also use the correct pronunciation when doing so.

Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels arguably remains Liverpool’s favourite play of the last decade, and its delicious sequel, Brick Up 2: The Wrath Of Ann Twacky, is on course to join it as the city’s audiences most treasured times spent in the theatre.

It is with many an outstanding reason why Dave Kirby’s and Nicky Alt’s tour de force is overwhelmingly great, it doesn’t take a degree to understand that the characters they have imagined, and brought superbly to life by the entire cast, is a beautiful reflection, although enlarged, of the city they care deeply for. It is perhaps amongst the first set of rules, write what you know and love what you write, and there can be no question that the two playwrights both love the people that they have captured within this dynamic production.

It is also though to the returning cast, as well as the impressive Jake Abraham taking over the role of Nick Walton from the tremendous Carl Chase, that the chemistry runs wild and sets off explosions of laughter within its home of the Royal Court Theatre. A chemistry enhanced by the current political climate, an insightful, thought-provoking, hilarious story outshining the farce inside the circus of Westminster, and with a cast that understand implacably how-to bring pleasure to the crowd.

Aided by a musical score that is enticing, the performance of the cast is resolute and gracious, especially with Francis Tucker opening up the character of Lis Card to the audience in such a way that he immediately caught the eye, his interaction with both Eithne Browne and Andrew Schofield making the idea of the much missed Ken Dodd’s heeded  words of exercising the chuckle muscle a valued piece of advice.

Brick Up 2: The Wrath Of Ann Twacky is a play that breaks down barriers and rips down walls as it proves that laughter is the biggest unifier of all.

Ian D. Hall