It’s already a sell-out sensation in its native Scotland. Now ‘The Dolls Abroad’ – a feisty, feel-good romp about two boozed-up besties swigging, swaggering and staggering onwards to yet another foreign bar – has officially been crowned the hottest new ticket in the UK.
The riotous comedy has been awarded number one spot on the Rising Comedy list, published by Ents24, the nation’s biggest live show guide. The list calculates which shows are most popular with the public by counting the people who sign up with Ents24 to know more about specific performances.
The Dolls popularity has been reinforced in other ways, too. One YouTube clip of a recent show bagged nearly 3m hits.
Which is great news for Gayle Telfer Stevens and Louise McCarthy, the crack comedy duo who play ‘the Dolls’, a pair of sassy Scottish scrubbers. (Quite literally, they clean pubs and toilets for a living.)
In the show, Agnes and Sadie have hit the ‘Doll drums’ and are desperate to take a break from the Toilet Duck and scouring pads.
They’re hungry for the sort of Mr Muscle that doesn’t come with an aerosol nodule.
So when Agnes wins top prize at Big Bella’s Bingo, an all-expenses paid holiday in Greece, she decides to take Sadie along for the ride.
What follows is hot weather, hotter men and fending off the hot flushes of maudlin, muddle age for as long as possible.
The Dolls Abroad has bucket loads of banter, sing-a-long sauciness and its own unique energy, which is not to be missed. It’s Mrs Brown times two, with a little bit of Thelma & Louise thrown in for good measure.
Gayle and Louise – who co-wrote he Dolls as well as starring in it – are enjoying being at the centre of the newest showbiz sensation. However, both women are no strangers to success, and regularly appear on stage and TV in their native Scotland as well as the rest of the UK.
Gayle stars in River City, the Scottish version of EastEnders, and Louise appears in Only an Excuse, a topical sports comedy.
But the two friends believe what they have created with The Dolls is unique.
“The chemistry between us is amazing,” says Gayle, who has also appeared in Casualty and the hit movie musical, Sunshine on Leith. “We just set each other off, and the audience participation really adds to the energy of the night. It’s the sort of thing you just can’t replicate in a TV show or with a movie. This is what live theatre is all about – audiences and performers bonding for a great evening of fun, tears and laughter.”
Louise agrees: “It’s just the greatest buzz in the world. It’s ten times better than an actual holiday in Greece, and a billion times better than cleaning a grotty toilet. Just ask the Dolls – they’ve done both!”
The Dolls Abroad performs at the Millennium Forum on Sun 1st October. Tickets are now available from the Box Office. Telephone 71 264455 or visit millenniumforum.col.uk for bookings.