THEATRE

CAN you think of a funny riposte to an insult? Are you able to invent a funny story in a moment?

Most of us have to admit we're a bit slow, with the riposte and the funny tale takes a while to develop.

So hurrah to the performers of Hoof!, a theatre company who can invent and develop an amusing play in an instant

The performers made up of two Liverpool theatre companies, Rejects Revenge and Spike Theatre, improvise an entertainment.

I wrongly assumed they worked out what they were going to do. I am assured they do nothing of the kind and last night they produced a tale of dream-like proportions.

There was a funeral, a night club, a bouncer, a saucy girl, a desperate man, an elderly man trying to get home and practically every other character you might meet. Later, they did a very different show.

All were produced by the five-man cast (mostly shaven-headed for some reason) and a musician Matthew Wood who also improvised background sounds on piano accordion, guitar and drums.

The accent was on comedy and while there was a poignant element (the elderly characters were treated with respect) the cast - Glenn Noble,, Mark Smith, Keddy Sutton, Liam Tobin and Steve Wallis - mostly worked on the comedy. And it WAS very funny