FOR MANY, the Mersey tunnels are like the Berlin Wall, a divide between two nations, the Liverpudlians and those who live in Wirral.
For Liverpool writer Dave Kirby, it is a rich seam of humour and one which he mines to superb effect in Brick Up the Mersey Tunnels.
He uses every comic trick in the book, from musical parody and gags to poetry and Carry On innuendo to tell his tale. The result is a classic Liverpool comedy which those Merseysiders who don’t mind broad humour will lap up with glee. They certainly did last night.
Kirby draws his characters in comic book style from the posh blue rinse Wirral lady living in Heswall to the scally Scousers with quick-fire repartee and quirky morals.
He is blessed by a superb Merseyside cast who hit all the correct buttons and deliver the joke-filled dialogue with style.
Eithne Browne is just right as Ann Twacky (the character names are that daft), the Heswall lady who is at war with Liverpudlians and even her husband Dennis (Roy Brandon) who comes from Birkenhead (she thinks that’s as bad as being from Liverpool).
She manages to get postal worker Gerard Gardner dismissed for deliv- ering a letter bearing a Liverpool postcodeand dismisses the man building her conservatory when she discovers he is also from Liverpool.
As played by Andrew Schofield, the conservatory man, Dickie Lewis, is a comic delight, all his lines delivered with a swagger and perfect timing.
It is he and Gardner who hatch revenge in a Liverpool caff (Rennie’s Cafe with a Capital of Culture Menu featuring Hamlet Burger) run by Maggie (ex-Brooksider Suzanne Collins looking quite stunning).
Theatre 
