Blackadder Goes Forth

Blackadder Goes Forth as many will know, was is the fourth and final series in the television sitcom written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, being set during The Great War of 1914-1918, and follows Captain Blackadder, Baldrick and George in their doomed attempts to escape from the trenches whilst under the misguided command of General Melchett.

When released to the amateur stage the authors have not defined which episodes of the show should be performed and so it is always interesting to see which episodes have been selected, how many have been selected (3 or 4) and how they are interpreted.  I was delighted to see that Blyth selected 3 of the most challenging including Private Plane, and also most poignant (Goodbyeee) providing the whole second act.  

Blyth have a tradition of multiple directors and Blackadder Goes Forth was no exception with Andrew Robinson and Adam Betts taking the reigns.  They very effectively managed to make the evening feel like a cohesive play rather than 3 independent ‘episodes’ through effective staging and continuity.  I especially liked the trench at the front of the stage that also doubled as the dog-fight pit.

All members of the cast delivered great characters – it is always hard to step into the shoes of Captain Blackadder, Baldrick, Captain Darling, General Melchett, Bob and Sqd Commander Flasheart and in all cases avoided the trap of trying to ‘imitate’ the TV cast but brought their own personalities and interpretations to their respective roles.

Blackadder is at its best when delivered by an ensemble cast all working for each other and that is what Blyth delivered.  Adam Betts provided the bedrock of the show as both Director and co-director with exactly the right degree of sarcasm and pessimism but still with sympathy for his front line trench team.  Malcome Pike was just right as Baldrick and didn’t go for the easy option of playing him as a buffoon/moron.  Richard Callaghan made an excellent debut as George, Simon Goodson provided a suitably oily, but eventually tragic, Captain Darling.  Andrew Robinson brought a suitably insane General Meltchett to compliment his co-direction. Evan and Lucy brought suitable strong support in their roles of Baron Von Richtoven and “Bob” and Dave Egan clearly revelled in his portrayal of Lord Flashheart  - Woof!

Set changes and prop setting were delivered at pace to ensure the evening moved on swiftly and the lighting and projections were very effective.  The commemorative programme was especially effective so congratulations to those who researched and created it.

Cast and crew certainly deserved the standing ovation from the audience at the end of the night and I had a very enjoyable evening once again at Blyth, so many thanks and see you all next year.

 

 

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