Review: Hudson & Halls Live

Todd Emerson as Peter Hudson and Chris Parker as David Halls resurrect the pair with flair.

Trip down memory lane to revisit cooking duo proves full of delights

Like a glittering swirl of praline crumbs cascading over the sponge-finger walls of a creme brulee castle, Hudson and Halls are back with a scrumptiously over-the-top display of outrageous showmanship and culinary mayhem.

Writer/director Kip Chapman immerses the audience in an imaginative recreation of a 1980s TV studio with meticulous attention to detail and a nostalgic affection for the exuberant hedonism of the era.

The script, bristling with hilarious one-liners, name-checks everything from the Rainbow Warrior to Keri Hulme's Booker award and Daniel Williams' set design pays homage to Hudson & Halls' camp aesthetic with an amusing array of ornaments that includes a ceramic tribute to Opo the dolphin.

The daunting task of resurrecting the iconic duo is carried off with panache as the performers inhabit their personalities without falling into slavish imitation.

Chris Parker conjures up an extravagantly flamboyant David Halls, permanently tottering on the edge of meltdown fuelled by a volatile grab-bag of unresolved issues and a prodigious appetite for alcohol.

By contrast Todd Emerson's Hudson is droll, business-like, mildly obsessive and frequently exasperated by his partner's wonderfully uninhibited provocations.

Amid the laughter, which rises to a riotous crescendo as the pair squabble over their taste in decor, we get touching glimpses of an intensely romantic relationship in which constant bickering masks a deep and abiding love. The show is neatly rounded off by Jackie Van Beek's captivating performance as a frenetically anxious floor manager in a pastel green pant-suit.

At a time when reality TV is precisely scripted, over-edited and cynically manipulative, Hudson & Halls serves up a delectable reminder of the authenticity of a show driven by the sheer bravado of personalities supremely confident about being themselves.

What: Hudson & Halls Live!
Where: Herald Theatre, to December 5