'Allo 'Allo!

First-time director Alison Kirby's production of this national favourite is bawdy, a little bit naughty and frequently hilarious -the SKAMP’s production of 'Allo 'Allo is a real crowd-pleaser.  Laden with the expected innuendo, catchphrases and high farce, the show hits all the right notes - thankfully much better than the reliably tone-deaf Madame Edith (Libby Barber).

With a production heavily reliant on physical comedy, slapstick and the occasional language mix-up, the talented cast delivers all this with aplomb. The knockwurst, the Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies, the ridiculous British airmen, (Hilary Hull and Paula-Jayne Huntley) popping up from behind the bar, the violin-playing villain Herr Flick of the Gestapo, played strongly by Guy Sharman, the camp Lieutenant Gruber (Adrian Worgan) and, of course, Rene Artois (Bill Lawrence) – they're all here. Wound up and ready to go for our entertainment and amusement. In essence the 'Allo, 'Allo! that we all know and love

There was effective casting, especially with Bill Lawrence capturing the languid, laissez-faire attitude of Rene that we all recall from Gorden Kaye's original TV performance. Likewise, Libby Barber proved an hilarious Edith with some quite deliberately awful cabaret singing. (I can imagine this was very difficult for Libby as I know she has an excellent voice.) A strong cast and ensemble playing peasants, (Vickie Kempson) German soldiers (Andrew Fenn) and airmen with good pace and strong comic acting.

As with Shakespeare, being faithful to the text will take you a long way to success with this show, and the humour was played in the spirit in which Lloyd and Croft wrote it. The tiniest of nuances, observed through the TV, do not equate to a copy-cat approach by the actors as craft and skill are required even for playing well-established characters. I particularly enjoyed Adrian Worgan’s Lieutenant Gruber, mincing around the stage, his looks to the audience, his stance and his comic timing were very strong.  Also, Philip Briston as Alberto kept up the Italian accent and then German with the Italian essence with brilliance. But the remainder of the cast all caught the essence of their characters well. The chemistry between players was excellent and everyone was having so much fun, the audience could not help but enjoy the show.

Applause goes to Becki Oliver playing Helga, slightly out of her comfort zone I was told, due to her usually doing musical shows.  Well, we would not have known. Confident, subtle and a real star, very dramatic in parts and yet cheeky with it. Excellent.  Simon Sleight went all out and shaved his head for the role of Colonel, what a trooper, his interpretation was spot on, with particular attention to comic timing. Really well done.

The overly feminine Yvette was played by Emma Roger with humour and a sexy wiggle but lacked the exacting timing of the other players, yet still very funny during the clinches with Rene. Whilst a gold star goes to Sarah Owen who played the role of Mimi with energy, control and with excellent comic timing for her lines and actions.  The peasants and German soldiers and British airman played by members of the cast were very well done, keeping up the acting during other dialogue and remaining in character during the laughter was superb.

It was sometimes a challenge for players to act, say lines, be in the right place, and deal with props, all on such a small stage.  It became obvious when slip ups happened.  I would urge you all to concentrate on staying in character the whole time on stage.  If someone drops things or lines are lost, remain in character, think, what would my character do?  Anything done with confidence can fool the audience into thinking it was all part of the play.  But when a glazed expression or in one case, turning to another actor and showing them the fallen piece of costume, a big no-no in my book, means the quality drops off. Just stepping out of character for one moment can bring the whole illusion crashing down.  The scene with all the Hitlers was hilarious, but we knew instantly when things went awry.  Actors did not remain in character and demonstrated in their expression that they were thinking about their next word or move instead of remaining ‘in the scene’ as their character.  

I felt Chris Walker could have made more of this character.  In the TV original series, Leclerc is played by Jack Haig, physically very different from Chris.  I felt this gave you an opportunity to make that part your own.  Yet sticking slavishly to costuming and actions of Mr Haig, I felt overall that the moments you were onstage were neither one thing nor the other.   You might have stooped over more, used comic wigs or moustaches to better effect, or employed different attitudes.  A missed opportunity, but only a minor note as Chris was funny, effective and talented.

Strong performances by both Jason Wilson and Tracy Hulme playing Crabtree and Michelle with lovely chemistry and funny in the expected ways.  Always a highlight in the show and played here with good pace and authority. Mick Cockerill as Schmelling played with power and competence.  All three of these parts were played cleverly by the actors.

I think the set was built with skill and the company has done a sterling job with set design, transforming the Corn Exchange Bourne, into Cafe Artois with so much attention to detail I was very pleased to be invited to view the stage after the show. The posters on the wall, the bar and wall panelling, the choice of colour and the small tables made the stage seem bigger than it really is.  We were seated café style with red and white checked table coverings and even the wine bottles had labels made for the show. Lorraine Spencer’s (Production Manager) influence was everywhere.  Sound effects and music were managed by Paul Shepherd, well-timed, and enhanced the action on stage. It was obvious some of the costumes were hired, others begged or borrowed with the inevitable compromises. But overall effective.

The Programme and promotion were handled by Chris Walker, Jason Wilson, and Becki Oliver and I really enjoyed the well-thought-out programme.  But I particularly noted that Sue Hodge and Richard Gibson the original Mimi and Her Flick provided video messages to the company. (Available online). A lovely touch and hopefully will translate into booked seats.  Certainly, the night I went the hall looked almost full, an achievement in these post-Covid times.

Scene changes were achieved swiftly, and outstanding team skills were displayed by (SM) Stuart Giddings’s team, Stuart Brown, Andrew Fenn, and Sharon Middleton.  A little incidental music over the top helped, and probably lots of practice, well done.

Well done Alison, an excellent production of a much-loved play, I hope you have learned a lot through the process and hope to see more of your work in the future.  Thank you for the warm welcome from the front-of-house team and I hope the rest of the run goes as smoothly.

 

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