'Allo 'Allo

Based on the hugely popular television series by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, ‘Allo ‘Allo gives addicts of the programme a much needed ‘fix’ by taking us to René’s café in Nouvion in German-occupied France, and bringing back all the familiar characters, daft plots and, of course, the infamous painting of the Fallen Madonna with the big you know whats! Goodness knows what people who’ve never seen the TV series make of it, but there are plenty of laughs and bucketloads of innuendo along the way to keep them entertained.

The big danger with doing a show with such familiar characters is that you have to make a pretty good fist of portraying characters as much like their TV counterparts as possible, or a lot of the humour falls flat. No worries here. The characterisation and acting by everyone on stage was exemplary, and after a few minutes we really felt like we were watching another episode of the TV series.

As soon as the curtain opened, we were presented with a most impressive box set – René’s café – all credit to designer Rog Ness and his building and painting teams. Side flats were brought in when the action moved out of the café and while they were effective, they necessitated some rather lengthy scene changes and I wondered whether something simpler could have been worked out, as was done for the cinema scene, but that’s a minor quibble.

Lighting was spot on, and the quality sound system made sure we caught every word. Costumes throughout were convincingly of the right period and look. The huge and bizarre range of props needed must be the ultimate challenge for a props team, but they were all there, looking wonderful. Quite an achievement.

Director Adam Fox (assisted by Chloe Gibson) has brought together a very strong cast who, while they might be more at home in a musical, proved they could turn their hands equally well to the serious business of comedy. He and his actors managed to put over the convoluted plot with precision and skill.

Everything hinges around café owner René and he’s rarely off stage, but as Luke Henley wandered around the café, introducing the audience to what was going on, we knew we were in safe hands. His portrayal was charismatic, with his accent spot on, demeanour perfect, simply oozing dismay and despair as everything went wrong. He was ably matched by Laura Pickford as his wife Edith and her excruciating singing – not an easy thing to do I’m sure, but she pulled it off well.

Bee Anderson and Sarah Melville both gave excellent performances as the lusty waitresses Yvette and Mimi, all long legs and attitude, constantly wanting Rene’s attention (though I’ve never quite understood why), while Debbie Martin gave an impeccable performance as Michelle (“I shall say zis only once”) of the Resistance.

Representing the occupying forces, Alexander Smitheram-Roberts as Von Strohm and Paul Bennett as Bertorelli were a delight (especially Bertorelli’s accent), and Jevan Fletcher’s gently camp Gruber was just right. Kyle Major underplayed Herr Flick perfectly, which made him all the more menacing, and he was nicely offset by Kiera Smitheram-Roberts’ enthusiastic Helga. Dan Farmiloe was maybe a little over the top as Von Schmelling but really showed the megalomania that was at play during the war.

How anyone remembers Crabtree’s lines amazes me, but Tom Doolan did and somehow delivered them with aplomb, while Adrian Martin was spot on as the daft Leclerc.

The arrangement of the auditorium as part café style seating and part tiered seating all added to the wonderful atmosphere you created, and the capacity audience all had a wonderful time, leaving with sides aching from all the laughter. You’ve shown you can do plays and comedy to just as high a standard as I’ve come to expect for your musicals, so I look forward to seeing more in the future.

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