Review: Miss Rory at Tyne Theatre and Opera House
Miss Rory: Winging It – Tyne Theatre and Opera House
12th May 2023
Anyone who has seen Miss Rory in any of her shows knows that they are going to have a fantastic night out full of laughs, topical humour, some very naughty banter and more than a few surprises. She has followed up last year’s Land of Hope and Rory with another superb evening of entertainment based around her many holidays at jovial expense of her audience.
This evening we were welcomed in the auditorium withairport style muzak interspersed with announcements permitting the packed audience to take as many photos as they like, which was a welcome change to most performances, to share them on tiktok and to The Tyne Theatre and Opera House’s own social media presence which was also lovely.
The stage, as you would expect was beautifully and colourfully lit with a set consisting of a taxi cab, signs for Las Vegas where Miss Rory’s alter ego was married last year, a massive suitcase, a giraffe and a departure board all of which added to the humour and perfectly blended with the hilarious material that this seasoned professional has expertly written for an expectant and exuberant crowd.
The night opened with a professionally shot film depicting Miss Rory terrorising a man heading for his holidays in various guises including but not limited to a taxi driver, a check in clerk, a barmaid, a Gregg’s assistant and an air stewardess which set up the evening perfectly and raised many a laugh.
Miss Rory is no stranger to the stage in the North East as a resident host at Boulevard, many one night shows at The Tyne Theatre and Opera House and most recently as a headline star of Sunderland Empire’s annual pantomime. She commands the stage with consummate ease and is equally adept at counter-acting any heckling that is quite often thrown her way. It is a very brave person that shouts out at the force-de-majeure that is the self-styled people’s princess.
The first half of the evening is taken entirely by the inimitable stand up of Miss Rory and I have to say that she is one of the best in the business. It is easy to classify her as a drag queen but that would be to disregard her incredible wit, observation of topical subjects and the ease with which she delivers her material that would make any stand up comedian, compere or entertainer very jealous.
The second half is mainly taken up by a raucous game show in which she had invited members of the audience to send in their holiday snaps and chose her four favourites to join her on the stage and to be mercilessly ridiculed through three rounds of ridiculousness including a spot the flag round, a name that tune round and a finale to determine the winner. This was all taken in good humour by the contestants andaudience alike. I do feel that this could have been shortened so as not to take up all the second half and to allow Miss Rory some time at the end for more of her witty conversation.
All in all, this was a wonderful night of entertainment from a skilled performer who announced at the end of the show that she will be returning to The Tyne Theatre and Opera House at around the same time next year for a performance styled around her 20th anniversary in show business, and I for one cannot wait. Get your tickets for this new show as soon as they go on sale because they will sell out very quickly indeed.
– Stephen Stokoe