'Allo 'Allo

Everybody's favourite long-running 1980s wartime TV sit-com was given a fine theatrical treatment at the glorious Hippodrome theatre: a talented cast, great technical support and a happy atmosphere all adding up to a very entertaining evening. As ever, the outrageous twists and turns which always accompanied the labyrinthine schemes on TV made an easy transition to the stage, as the show - like many sit-coms of a certain vintage - has its roots in the best traditions of the stage farce. All the familiar characters from TV were present and as always, it was interesting to see what the cast members would do with the famous characters from the much loved television show. As the curtain opened on a lovingly crafted and very effective set, it was clear that the large audience were in for a treat - nor were we disappointed.

Gordon Ingleby was outstanding as Rene, the long-suffering cafe owner. This is a part which is very demanding as Rene holds all of the disparate threads of the farcical goings-on together and needs assured playing: this Gordon delivered in spades in what was a confident and humorous performance. Taking the essence of the character - without slavishly attempting to be a carbon copy of the TV original (Gordon Kaye in this instance) - and then bringing the character to life in a new way is for me what a show like this should be all about: Gordon excelled and was a more likeable and comical Rene than the TV version as a result. Rene's wife Edith, the cafe's songbird and all-round cabaret entertainer, was brought to life wonderfully by Rosemary Osborne and her 'musical' appearances were a highlight of the show. That touch of class which always comes with a performance from Rosemary was evident again and she made Edith into a much more fully rounded character than her TV equivalent: together, Gordon and Rosemary were at the head of a great stage team and led the way with great skill.

Flighty waitresses Yvette and Mimi were given a great spark of life by Georgina Smith and Jackie Edington, two more confident and amusing performances here. Michelle ('listen very carefully, I shall say this only once...') of the Resistance received a charming portrayal by Angela Boult who popped up in a range of disguises throughout the show and her half-witted accomplices, Crabtree and LeClerc were similarly well drawn by Josh Hindle and Dennis Royle. Officer Crabtree - he of the mongled French occent - was far more loveable in Josh's hands than he ever was on television and Dennis's parrot seller was another very funny highlight - verging on the filthy of course, but all in the finest traditions of the Great British double entendre. (In fact, only the other day, I was asked if I could give an example or two of exactly what was meant by the term 'double entendre' while the young lady in question took a few notes: "you take them down and I'll give you one" I helpfully replied...) Sorry about that - Dennis does it so much better than I do!

But what of the enemy, those dastardly Germans? Ken Horsfield as the Colonel was a great presence on stage - fabulous diction and projection throughout the show, which is always a real pleasure in these days of mumbling into microphones - and Simon Jackson as Bertorelli provided chuckles aplenty with his attempts at playing the Italian ladykiller. Herr Flick was confidently brought off by Barry Jackson who added a different slant on the character than the flint dry TV portrayal, which was most welcome and was well received, particularly his appearance as a Nazi usherette. Wendy Watson's Helga was something else altogether - a wonderfully Wagnerian performance of tremendously Teutonic proportions, this was obviously the role Wendy was born to play: very impressive indeed. Stephen Burrows was a delight as Lieut. Gruber - his every line was deliciously delivered and joyously camp: there was a real sparkle to his character which the audience appreciated enormously. Eric Beardsworth made for a suitably stroppy General, with eye patch and limp rounding off the character nicely - all that was missing was a duelling scar and a monocle! With a gang of very versatile society members rounding off the cast list as passing peasants, German soldiers, cafe pianist and British airmen, the stage fairly teemed with life and added that little extra to proceedings that in lesser productions is sometimes overlooked when the attention on stage is focused elsewhere. In fact everyone on stage worked together very successfully to create a warm and humorous evening's entertainment and the large audience was thoroughly entertained.

For me, the essence of amateur theatre is the sense of a group of enthusiastic and hard working people coming together to create something worthwhile and sharing this artistic endeavour with the wider community. When a society can breathe life into an old warhorse like 'Allo 'Allo and mange to raise the spirits of a heavy hearted Noda reviewer (quite frankly, I loathe the TV series and would rather suffer any number of painful and tiresome indignities than have to sit through even five minutes of the programme - the title music alone elicits a Pavlovian response to throw heavy objects at the TV screen...) it is a testament to their theatrical abilities. The balance of keeping to the spirit of the original, yet putting very individual slants on the characters in question, is something that needs to be handled carefully: Andrea Jackson and the team got it spot on and the extra little touches of imagination really made for an entertaining and worthwhile evening. In fact, Andrea's little touches were more than a little inspired (the airmen in the bed being a typical example) and showed that this production had been a happy one: this always shows over the footlights and an audience appreciates a happy, thoughtful and intelligent production all the more.

Technically speaking, this was another faultless tour de force from the Hippodrome with the demands of multiple sets (and not having a great deal of space to wheel quite large bits of scenery through) being met with ease by Penelope Hatfield and her team. The costumes for me were slightly hit and miss: great for the most part but I do prefer my German officers to look like German officers rather than bus conductors but that's only a minor quibble as I did like the rather fetching pink stripe running down Officer Gruber's jodhpurs. The barrage of catch-phrases familiar from the TV show were depressingly evident (!) but of course, vital for the true 'Allo 'Allo experience. The outrageously overdone accents were in some cases done very well but in others, didn't quite go over the top enough for me (I do so enjoy a knowingly mangled foreign accent.) Unfortunately on occasion, an enthusiastic but unintelligible accent obscured the understanding of the dialogue and a few punchlines fell flat because we hadn't quite got our ears round the feed line. 

That the show was a fresh take on familiar ideas and written specifically for the stage, rather than a re-hash of pre-existing episodes from the TV series, was refreshing. Something which is always refreshing is the Pendle Hippodrome experience in general: the warm-hearted and professional attitude of the performers, the friendliness of the front of house team... I could go on. The whole atmosphere of an evening at the Hippodrome is always positive and - dare one say - more than a little life affirming. My thanks to all at the Hippodrome once again for a splendid evening.

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