'Allo 'Allo

Based on the very popular 1980`s TV series, `ALLO 'ALLO ran for ten years. A French café owner tries to ride out WW2 and is caught between the Gestapo and the Resistance and forced to work with both. The owner Rene, `punctuates` his time by having affairs with his waitresses, unbeknown to his wife, a wannabe cabaret singer who cannot `hold-a-tune`.

The opening scene transported the audience back to the TV series as both the intro. music and set were immediately recognisable. It was impressive how well cast everyone was and it was clear that there was a good sense of comradery amongst the actors who `bounced` off one another.  All maintained their acting when up stage but often lost their characters when taking their exits, albeit on blackout.  Some lost their accents occasionally.  It is difficult to pitch the volume of the music appropriately and at times it `drowned` the singing.

Emma Everitt (Yvette) and Kelly Davies (Mimi) played their parts in a fun way. Graham Lord (Rene Artois) held the stage and really got into his character. He had a very good rapport with the audience, making them feel part of what was going on. Martin Newell (Lieutenant Gruber) brought a consistently stylish and subtle humour to the evening without being over the top and Adam Wigmore was all that one would have expected of Crabtree.  Paul Harris (Herr Flick) and Kathy Milner (Edith Artois) were both solid in their performances.  Nick Swain (Captain Bertorelli) was a convincing `dirty-old-man` and his accents were authentic.  Lorraine Camp (Michelle) was well cast and just needed a little more `oomph` and volume at times.  Derek Elmore (Colonel von Strohm) traversed between accents but otherwise maintained his character. Mel Newman (Helga Geerhart) duly played the role of a subordinate, which provided an effective contrast to Herr Flick.  Ian Watton (General von Schmelling) had a strong personae with good clarity of speech.  Colin Parker (Leclerc) provided intermittent humour, which added to the entertainment.

 The way the bed was portrayed in the bedroom scene worked really well and was funny. The production team produced a show where the audience were left with the whole of the their `immune systems` boosted. St Paul`s Drama Group certainly brought to life the script of Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft and it was worthy of more than two performances.  The costumes were excellent, of the time and offering a good visual impact. Congratulations and thanks go to Marian Marshall (Director), to the whole of the production team and the cast, for a fun evening. 

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