THE Bronte sisters get the Lipservice treatment at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester next week.

After poking fun at the likes of Jane Austen, Greek tragedies and Joanna Trollope, Lipservice, better known as Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, are making a welcome return to one of their earliest shows, Withering Looks.

The theatrical comic duo obviously couldn’t resist the urge to dust off their crinolines, wear flattering bonnets and sit at rained-lashed windows in a pale and decorative manner for the production, which sends-up the lives and works of the Brontes.

Scattered with many of the characters we know and love, Maggie and Sue move effortlessly from frock to frock coat in the show, which won a Manchester Evening News Theatre Award and the Critics Award for Comedy at the Edinburgh Festival.

The pair have been writing and performing together since 1985. They have written 16 comedies for the stage, including Very Little Women and a brilliant take on Oscar Wilde’s the Importance of Being Earnest, had their own comedy series on BBC Radio 4, and made many appearances on TV.

Withering Looks is at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, on May 8 and 9 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £11.50 to £18.50 and are available from the box office on 01206 573948 or on-line at www.

mercurytheatre.co.uk