Something peculiar has happened to Hale and Pace. Norman, the little one, is a little pouchier, though still recognisable. But Gareth, his partner, seems to have lost loads of weight, gone blonde and turned into a woman.
It transpires that Pace has actually become part of a new double act, at least for the duration of Amanda Whittington's new play, which casts him as one half of a jobbing vocal duo doing the rounds of the northern variety circuit.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that portly "personality vocalists" of a certain age must be in want of a protege. So it is that Vince Steel's flagging career receives a boost when he spots sassy seamstress Tina Satin strutting her stuff in a talent competition. Before long they are making beautiful music together. Or at least belting out workmanlike ballads to the chicken-in-a-basket crowd.
Whittington's warm-hearted two-hander never strays far from the A Star is Born template: it's pretty obvious as the stages enlarge and Tina's outfits shrink that she will ultimately eclipse her mentor. But the writing is emotionally astute enough to ensure that, from the moment they first meet, the pair generate a certain electricity. Or maybe it's all the polyester they're wearing.
Norman Pace proves to be inspired casting, bestowing Vince with the megawatt dazzle of the seasoned song-and-dance man, but also suggesting the emotional isolation of a fragile, bi-curious cabaret turn wedded to his work.
Sara Poyzer is thoroughly watchable in her development from Tina the rag trade duckling to Teena the showbiz swan. Esther Richardson's production is not for anyone who objects to smoking, aerosol hairsprays or unspeakable atrocities being perpetrated on John Lennon's back catalogue. But as an easy-going alternative to a night at the bingo, it's bound to attract a full house.
· Until March 12. Box office: 0115-941 9419.
