Parenting Hell Live: Work in Progress
The muse of any respectable orthodontic’s wet dreams Rob Beckett and shape of you Sheeran prototype Josh Widdicombe braved the A11 slow bor to continue their quest for an arena ready live action Parenting Hell.
The podcast boasts a stratospheric 55 million downloads since its presumably covid boredom induced seeding way back in the claustrophobic days of April 2020 with Spotify. Six seasons into their bi-weekly perils of parental reassurance, just as the sweet smell of a new born baby will sure enough evolve into the room clearing stench of a teen, the comedy dues time filler has equated a third time lucky stage testing journey on their arena show primping.
As with all natural occurrences when parents/guardians gather, it’s only a matter of time until the one-upping begins; classics like, who has the youngest or oldest child and the most coveted prize of all within the parenting community, who can claim a trophy for being the most tired parent! Now within minutes and even before the official show had actually started Beckett and Widdicombe hold the audience captive with participation.
A one-up queen is declared and before an eruption of cheering chaps for Chelsea’s commitment to procreation - with her fourth on the way - can ring silent, Chelsea is faced with the beautiful sweet dream of a big bed to her self. All of this on the gambit of staying awake for the length of this show, to receive a prize night of escape from the homestead for Beckett and Widdicombe’s perfected O2 show.
With our hosts getting into the full swing of whirling wit on this big stage a night of audience participation games ensue, intertwined with tales worthy of jaw dropping gasps and crying laughter. Time most certainly gets away from the boys as the interval is called around the estimated wrapping time for this evening, with an abrupt hang up on an off the rails game of Mr and Mrs by a very patient Louise Watts (Mrs Beckett).
The second half begins with the fellas wasting no time in getting Chelsea back under the covers, with AuntySharon joining her this time round and Widdicombe in the middle making three in the now smaller looking bed. As the reality of bedding a young lady with child and her saucy Aunty with a Widdicombe shaped soft spot illuminates the stage, adorably jurassic Tom Davis breaks up the looming of a sexual harassment claim.
Davis chuckles out stories of his precious little power napper come waking wailer and the night ninja who shame chopped a simply successful sleeping schedule, along with child locks and highly hidden keys. With the night already running massively over, why not throw another game into the mix and put Davis and Aunty Sharon head-to-head for a baby-shower-esk crash course of parenting with the trying tasks of changing, feeding and cleaning. Aunty Sharon dominates, securing her plus one for Chelsea’s night at the O2 and seconds later all thanks for this evening are shouted out as the energetic stage is cleared in a flash of the eye.
Admittedly on their part, this transformation into a live action podcast for the stage has a lot of moving parts and it was quite clearly still in the relatively early stages of development, but by no means did that stifle any outbursts of belly laughs. This show is already bigger than the presence Beckett and Widdicombe alone can professionally deliver, it’s a performance all parents are just too tired for divulging on a week night, this is a show for the parents by the parents and luckily the parents on stage are a couple of crackers. With a couple more tightened screws here and there, this live action podcast will be heaven on stage.
