Allo Allo

For any society to tackle a play which is so well known from a TV sitcom plus all the characters involved in it, they must be confident that it is going to work, and they have made the right cast choices.

Well Dewsbury Collegians had every reason to be confident they had made the right choice of play and cast when they produced Allo, Allo the TV programme set in France during the Second World War about the French Resistance.

In the lead role of Rene Artois was James Creegan who was not only similar looking to the late Gorden Kaye who played him for years, he also had all the mannerisms to go with it to be able to give this character everything it deserved and bring it to life.

As well as Rene we all know and love his long suffering wife Edith, this was in the more than capable hands of Claire Adams who again was able to deliver the goods, none more so than when she sang very off key, it was so bad it was good.

There are many characters in this piece and suffice to say all of them were able to contribute to the overall enjoyment of the entire production. As we all know Rene has a couple of love interests unbeknown to his wife, playing Yvette and Mimi were Hayley Thompson and Tanya Prior respectively who both brought laughs to the stage each time they entered it.

There were also plenty of laughs from Paul Metcalf as Herr Otto Flick and Jane Ellaway as his love interest Helga Geerhart especially when Paul was dressed in stockings, high heels and a Basque, it was hilarious. Mention must also be made to Jeremy Handley who played a very camp Lt. Herbert Gruber, his facial expressions and amorous advances towards Rene were superb.

Chris Nuttall must be very pleased with himself as director of this piece and praise must also go to the set builders who did a sterling job of transforming the church hall into a French Café. 

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