There aren't many shows that have Tit in the title, in fact I can't think of any. Apart from Titanic, which doesn't really count. Maybe it was a gap that Paul Boyd spotted, and decided needed filling, who knows. Regardless of the reasons, Molly Wobbly's Tit Factory was born, and comes at you both barrels (or should that be cups), and is captured here for our delight and tease by the wonderful SimG Records. Simon Grieff of SimG certainly knows a thing or two.

Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory is an original titillating musical tale of three very ordinary couples who live on Mammary Lane. When a mysterious stranger appears in the town of Little Happening the local men suddenly find themselves plotting to get rid of their wives, whilst the women of the town are left with no option but to get one or two things off their chests! Written and directed by Paul Boyd and featuring the original Lyric Belfast / Edinburgh Festival cast Christopher Finn, Tara Flynn, Orla Gormley, Kevin Hynes, Conleth Kane, Russell Morton, Tommy Wallace and Olivier winner Leanne Jones, the production received wonderful reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, and the recording deserves no less praise.

Regular readers will know my big gripe about cast recordings is having no dialogue on the recording. Whilst the songs are what we buy cast recordings for, it's great to also have libretto to listen to, so the songs develop meaning, and you can at least follow part of the story, and have the songs in context. This recording pitches that just right, and the story is woven around the songs beautifully. It's also hilarious with some very clever puns. The booklet is good, with lots of detail - the ideal package.

The songs are pop-based, and are recorded with clarity. The overall sound is great. Picking songs out of a musical like this to name as favourites is hard, but the 'theme' song of the show 'Mammary Lane' is a cleverly written piece, and fits well. I loved 'One Day Without Her' and 'Designed By Margaret Brown' too - again, superbly crafted pieces, and some excellent vocals. The cast is superb, and each delivers a well measured characterised performance. I would love to have seen this on stage. The humour is sometimes rather 'on the limit' (think Avenue Q and Book Of Mormon), but very funny. 'One Night Stand' is one of the funniest show songs I have heard.

All in all, a gem of a recording. If only life were always as colourful and silly as this.

10

Ian Gude