I did not know what to expect of the evening of the humour of Tom Lehrer and Bob Newhart presented by Peter Gill and Andrew Meller.

That, however, is the beauty of Bewdley Festival in bringing to the town 'new' artistes and different genres of entertainment.

What I got was a four for the price of one ticket - the skills and professionalism of two talented individuals performing the songs and sketches of two of the most highly regarded entertainers of the 1950's and 60's.

Andrew Meller presented the music and lyrics of Tom Lehrer. These were songs in their time were considered too risque for general broadcast. The lyrics covered such subjects as murdering the whole family and Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, coupled with slightly lighter subjects such as the Masochism Tango. The clever writing was equivalent to a modern day Victoria Wood but with a macabre twist.

These two talents alternated with Bob Newhart's one man sketches from Peter Gill. These covered a range of topics such as The Driving Instructor, Introducing Tobacco to Civilisation and the special training of bus drivers.

Many of these topics have a modern day resonance and compare well to modern observational humour in its exaggerated form.

In short, the audience were hugely entertained with the wit and satire of both performers. Truly, four acts for the price of one.

By P.G.P.