Devised by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence in association with Improbable, No Idea is exactly what it says on the poster: two women with vague notions about putting on a show but without an idea between them. Struggling for inspiration, they ask members of the public to suggest themes. These range from gritty, domestic scenarios to a cockney-style singalong in which Spence provides halting accompaniment on an electronic keyboard she does not know how to play.
Curiously, none of the suggestions make reference to the fact that Hammond is half the size of her partner and uses an electric wheelchair, and the show becomes a slightly faltering but perceptive social experiment which proves that people's eagerness to overlook disability can itself be patronising. Hammond goes off on a hilarious riff about what she terms the "here comes trouble" effect, whereby it is assumed that people of small stature compensate with outsized bonhomie. She also reveals that wheelchairs are extremely useful for shoplifting: if security personnel catch her with unpaid-for merchandise, she pretends not to be able to feel her legs.
The duo then take a different tack: asking the public to add scenes to a specific storyline they might enact. The two-hander thereby turns into a one-person show, as Spence is given cues for a generic romantic comedy while Hammond is left sulking in a corner with nothing to do. Eventually, she declares she's had enough, and storms, or rather wheels, out. Uh oh, you think: there goes trouble.
Ends tonight. Box office: 0161-833 9833. Then touring.
