Comedy duo compose love letter to Derbyshire town for fringe festival show

The entertaining partnership of Ruth Cockburn and Keith Carter was nominated for best theatre production at last year’s festival with their show ‘Support Your Local Library! A Gothic/Pub Rock Opera.’

Ruth said: “We had such a great time at last year’s festival that we decided to do a show exclusively for Buxton. A kind of thank-you for all the support we got from staff at the Underground and the people that came to see us.”

Their new show A Soiree of Black Liver is composed of songs and stories ranging from the silly to the satirical. You can catch the final performance in Buxton at Underground at The Clubhouse on Saturday, July 22 at 4pm.

Keith said: “If you’re going to do comedy songs then make them funny. We’ve played to crowds that want their money’s worth. Every line has to be killer.”

But they’re not just comedy songsters, the banter between them on stage has crowds rocking and rolling in the aisles.

Ruth said: “We just talk like every other couple. We argue, we pick on each other and we make each other laugh. It just happens we do it on stage."

Keith said: “And the crowd are in on the conversion, we love getting them involved in the show. We don’t humiliate anyone for a cheap laugh. We chat to the audience and treat them like mates.”

Being stand-up comics for years before has made Black Liver a musical duo with an edge. Keith has worked with (amongst others) Ricky Gervais, Johnny Vegas and Sean Lock and Ruth ran her own comedy nights in Manchester, whilst working alongside drag queen legend Anna Phylactic.

Tickets for A Soiree of Black Liver range from £7 to £10; to book, go to http://2023.underthefringe.com/shows/black-liver