Flying Pig reached the pinnacle of their success with their awesome debut on the newly refurbished stage of His Majesty's Theatre.
—Sonja Rasmussen, Evening Express, 29 December 2005
After managing to lure a good number of hardy souls out to darkest Hilton in the bleak mid-winter, a long-standing ambition was realised when, in an unguarded moment, those in charge of HMT asked if we'd like to come and play in the Big Theatre. Being the sharp, professional operation we are, we checked the contract, hummed, hawed and kept 'em in suspense for a number of tenths of a second before saying yes in a thrilled, but slightly feart, collective voice.
The show provided the proverbial another chance to see Billy and Dougie's Cruel Sea but otherwise it was fresh material all the way. Selma and Eddie added a fresh twist to the Mither and Faither saga; Hilton John's candid confession was a musical highlight and Aberdeen's bid for the 2016 Olympics provided both a setting for a host of old favourites and new characters and a suitably grand (and daft) finale.
They've asked us back you know. Some people never learn.
Review by Sonja Rasmussen
Aberdeen Evening Express
Saturday November 12 2005
Flying Pigs Root Out Crackling Comedy.
Anyone following the progress of Flying Pig Productions knows they reached the pinnacle of their success this weekend with two sell-out shows at HMT.
The local comedy group's popularity has exploded since its first show at The Lemon Tree in 1998, later moving to the Arts Centre and finally alighting at HMT at Hilton last year. Now the company makes an awesome debut on the newly refurbished stage of His Majesty's Theatre with The Seagull Has Landed.
The beauty of the Flying Pigs is its ability to fit any venue, and please any audience. Last night, with its familiar pink sets and costumes, and carefully blended comedy and music, it finds the perfect home on Aberdeen's largest stage. Greg Gordon's side-splitting scripts reacquaint audiences with old favourites Mither and Faither, Archie and Davie and The Liar, while introducing Scotland The What?-style characters Selma and Eddie, the jobsworth Doctor's Receptionist and Aberdeen City Council's Licensing Board. With Aberdonian Pavement Dances taught by a line-up of couthy experts, and music fro The Buckie Drifters, Glen Camphill and Hilton John, local comedy has found a home in a new generation.
Pigs might fly - only time will tell us how far.