You've seen them rob a (food) bank and learn TikTok dances during lockdown, now hapless freedom fighters the Dundonald Liberation Army are saying goodbye with their biggest scheme to date.
Vote DLA, an original play by comic writer Stephen Large and directed by Gerard McCabe, is currently running at the Grand Opera House and is the final saga in the trilogy of plays following Davy "The Venezuelan" Taylor and John "Horse" McCracken.
After Davy realises his dream of an independent republic of Dundonald cannot be achieved without a political strategy, he sets his eyes on a seat at the top - of the Lisburn and Castlereagh Council of course.
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Taking to one of the most iconic venues in Northern Ireland, you couldn't help but laugh at the irony of this pair of hallions effing and blinding under their in no way tacky 'live, laugh, love' sign in one of the most gorgeous and historic stages in the city.
I had my expectations incredibly high after seeing Lockdown DLA at The MAC last year so was curious to see if the outrageousness and genuine hilarity could be matched - Vote DLA makes it clear that Stephen has an abundance of jokes up his sleeve that makes seeing one of his plays serious craic every time.
The play has everything you want from a Northern Irish comedy - littered with our silly little idioms, references to our iconic landmarks (Ballybeen and the Dundonald Ice Bowl) and the authentic joy of having a laugh at ourselves.
Vote DLA never takes itself too seriously so the ability to laugh out loud and the occasional 'yeoo' from the audience is not misplaced and transports you away from the grandeur of the Opera House and right there in the 'manky little flat' with Horse, Davy and Suzie Shankill.
I'll not ruin too much for anyone planning on heading down to catch it this week but expect a few clowns trying to get into local politics - something the comment section on many of our articles would suggest mirrors reality...
Once again, Matthew McElhinney and Matthew Forsythe's back-and-forth results in some side-splitting laughs and their ability to dedicate themselves to a bit and ham up the absolute absurdity of the characters they are portraying is a credit to their comedic timing.
After three goes in the tracksuit and the handlebar moustache, the pair have absolutely embodied what it means to be Davy and Horse and makes you root for the 'DLA ceasefire' to end just so we can get another run of shows out of them.
From their accents to their physical comedy to their natural stage chemistry, McElhinney and Forsythe have been a pleasure to watch as Dundonald's Chuckle Brothers.
Introducing Jo Donnelly for the final show in the trilogy was a perfect casting to compliment the original cast - the two Matthews are comedy powerhouses and Jo held her own right there in the middle of all the DLA chaos. She embodied both straight-speaking politician Norma Short and DLA Wag Suzie Shankill so perfectly you could easily forget it is the same person.
Her whole performance complemented the onstage dynamic and elevated what had been established in the previous two plays to give the finale that little bit extra - a 'Lisburnian' live and in person to rival our favourite 'Dundonaldodians'.
Merging some of the most iconic and recognisable political banter/scandals from not just NI but across the world was a genius move on Stephen's behalf - forget Make America Great Again, Make Dundonald Magic Again is where it is at.
From his years behind the keyboard on the Dundonald Liberation Army Facebook Page, he knows exactly what makes us genuinely belly laugh and has once again produced a blinder of a play that is quintessentially NI, filled with banter and loaded one-liners that really marks him as one of the country's best comic writers at the moment.
Vote DLA is more of an experience than just sitting watching a play so don't miss our on catching the Dundonald Liberation Army's last operation.
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