Review: The Flying Pigs take centre stage at HMT

The much-loved Doric comedy team, The Flying Pigs made a welcome return to the stage at His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen to a packed auditorium, which as the opening announcement said: "Might not even be here because its cheaper to buy a ticket that to heat your house."

Under the now traditional punning show title which bears absolutely no relation to content, the gang of six - Craig Pike, Moray Barber, Elaine Clark, Greg Gordon, Susan Gordon and John Hardie mix comedy and song in evening that welcomed back many of their enduring characters and their commentary on the world in general and some parts a lot closer to home.

Originally written to take to the stage back in 2020, the show was, inevitably, called off because of "a thing" which they have deftly expunged from the updated gag roster to instead take a slightly more introspective theme.

And with 25 years of performance now behind them, family and ageing take a central role in the comedy and performance.

Their collective and individual vocal talents open the show as the Buckie Drifters reflect on the modern dating scene and with that we are back into the swing of things as comedy muscle memory kicks in.

The show sees an appearance of the Bakery Wifies who have really stepped up their green credentials, though their local goods sourcing may be somewhat less desirable.

John Hardie's Maurice The Liar, one of the longest running sketches from their plethora of characters regails us with his tales of family and a secret mission for Google, while set upon primary teacher Mrs Valentine has some lessons in the birds and the bees that don't go quite to plan.

The long running saga of Mither and Faither continues as well as neighbour Selma (she of the notorious date loaf) comes into a fortune from late husband Eddie's B&Q hoarding, leading to a very relevant modern scamming attempt.

And on the topic of phishing, the Caledonia Bank's favourite customer Mr Duguid encounters another modern name dilemma.

Song has always been an integral part of the show and this year, we're treated to numbers on becoming more like your Own Faither, Amazon Deliveries and how Everyones Going Running.

A great pastiche of TED talks sees a call back to sketches involving a certain Mr Watson from previous years and an on screen motivational poster about rowies that brought the show to a halt until the laughter had calmed down enough for the vocals to be heard.

The biggest laugh of the night (and there are many) however was claimed by Craig and Greg with the return of MTV - Meikle Wartle Television, which has moved into the digital age with Neepflix and its suggestions based on your previous watch history.

I won't spoil it, but Skittery Wullie's choices raise more questions than answers.

The Rothienorman Picture Show continues at His Majesty's Aberdeen through to Saturday.

Visit https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/ for tickets.

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