A Night with Mel and Sue

Having cancelled their tour scheduled for 2001 due to Mel's pregnancy, the duo commenced their 2002 tour at the Komedia in Brighton on 18th October 2002. Initially, six performances were planned.Two at the Komedia and four at the Arts Theatre in London.

Entitled A  Night with Mel and Sue, it was their first tour since Back to our Roots in 1999. I now feel able to offer a couple of  reviews of the show and also share a few photographs taken at various dates on the tour. 

In an interview given to Chortle just prior to the start of the tour in October 2002, Mel claimed that the content of the show had yet to be decided. Notwithstanding this, Mel and Sue were able to present an enjoyable show to those of us who went along for the opening evening at the Komedia. We were introduced to some new characters such as Anna Dyne and Bo Ring - desperate Reality TV 'stars', and revisited old ones such as Dr Freudling. There was some criticism of these early shows by fans who were disappointed that the duo were reusing some material from the Back to our Roots tour. However, the show did evolve and by the time it was ready to be taken to the Edinburgh Festival in August 2003, Mel and Sue had introduced new characters and material and honed it down to a great hour-long show.

Personally, I was sorry to see the demise of some of the material from the earlier shows: the fluffy pink handcuffs and giant key, the song about living next door to Mel and Sue, and the dog trainers. Nevertheless, those of us who saw them at the Festival would agree that Mel and Sue settled on the best material for the sixty minute show.