Stage: Meet the Fabulous Backström Brothers at TOM

If, like me, you scour the local listings, the Fringe and the Festival brochures each year to see if Spymonkey are playing with a new show, or an old show for that matter, then so far this year has not put smiles on our faces. And there’s little doubt that for the majority Spymonkey will put huge smiles on our faces, whether it’s Greek gods or Shakespearean deaths, Spymonkey are side-splittingly funny.

So this is definitely exciting news! We are warned to prepare ourselves for the UK premiere of this Finnish smash hit, directed by Spymonkey’s Toby Park and Aitor Basauri, yes the crazy perpetrators of modern clowning.

The Fabulous Backström Brothers are in town for Brighton Fringe and here is why. Baritone Jouni Bäckström invited his brother Petri on a trip, with the goal of spending some quality time cruising across the states on Route 66 with him. What starts as a heartfelt plan to create some amazing memories and to foster some brotherly love quickly falls apart as Petri throws a spanner in the works.

Richard Wagner meets Johnny Cash in a ‘Ring of Fire’

Instead of focusing on their trip, Pertri decides that this is the perfect opportunity to rehearse his big role as Siegfreied, and what’s worse he’s brought along his pianist Jukka Nykänen who is working on his magnum opus: ‘The God Particle’.

This is a hilarious and hard to pin down musical comedy that is a great choice for a day out, with a depth and breadth of appeal fit for the whole family. Think Richard Wagner meets Johnny Cash in a ‘Ring of Fire’.

The Bäckström Brothers are widely talented musicians with a background in opera, but they have always felt that the discipline has a tendency to lean quite far towards a certain kind of elitism. This show was originally envisioned as a counter-balance to the institutionalized, often ham-strung, output often found in opera houses, and has blossomed into a passionate and powerful show that proudly stands behind its operatic roots, whilst not taking itself too seriously and aiming its sights at more of a comedy cross-over audience.

The Fabulous Bäckström Brothers 
31 May – 2 Jun, 7pm 2 Jun, 2pm
01273 201 801, theoldmarket.com