FOLLOWING their sell our debut run at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Fife’s very own Kingdom Theatre Company have returned to the Fringe once again with a new and updated version of The Kelty Clippie, writes Times theatre critic Kerry Black.

Taking inspiration from John Watt’s famous song, Jacqueline Hannan reprises her role as the hysterically funny central character, who dreams of a life on the buses of Fife.

I was fortunate enough to see the original show at the Fringe last summer, then the extended version at the Carnegie Hall.

This year’s version, blends some of the characters from both productions in a hilariously touching tale. Packed with original songs by Willie Logan and John Murray (who also wrote the show), supplemented by parodies of well know hits such as, “I Left My Heart In Auchtermuchty”, this is an evening of pure nostalgia, well worthy of the larger venue.

Steve Ponton, who played the Kelty club “turn” at Carnegie Hall, returns in the role of Bobby the Driver. His lovely singing voice, charmed the ladies as he took the wheel of the bus.

The very talented Sandy Queenan played the dual role of the bus garage interviewer and Mikey, while Moira Davies, played Sally his long suffering wife and Lisa Birrell returned as Senga, the drunken disco diva! The cast was rounded off by Mike Tilling and Lorraine Dobie as Wilfred and Ruby.

If you’d enjoy a glimpse back to a land of Green Shield stamps, fag coupons and Fife pits, The Kelty Clippie will be calling in to the Lochgelly Centre on Saturday September 28 at 2pm, where you too can climb aboard to see what Jacqueline Hannan can do with a banana! Highly recommended!

This week Kingdom Theatre are presenting “The Drowsy Chaperone”, in the same Greenside Fringe venue as the Kelty Clippie, at Nicholson Square. It’s a musical set in the 1920s, featuring Steven Smyth as Aldopho, Darren Johnson as the tap dancing, roller skating Robert Martin, the Groom and Pauline McGeevor as Kitty a desperate wannabe leading lady, who are all well kent faces in local Fife Musical societies. This is a show which will definitely be worth seeing!