Blackadder Goes Forth

The hottest day of the year to date is not an ideal day for sitting in a theatre watching Actors performing in full Army uniform. It might have been hot inside, but the theatre gave a warm welcome to the audience who gave a warm response to the cast and crew.

The foyer was filled with the sound of World War I songs being played on the piano and few audience members between thirst quenching drinks singing along to these familiar tunes. A nice touch to put the audience in the mood for the show to come.

It is always a problem for Directors when producing a show that has originally been written for television for scenes can be anything from 15/20 seconds to 5 minutes or more. A stage director doesn’t have the luxury of saying cut. Here Curtis McMullan in his directing debut took advantage of his experience of film work and created a set that worked well and enabled, with the use of blackouts, to switch quickly from scene to scene. Essentially a box set, one half of which was a timber lined trench, complete with beds, table, chairs and ancillary props and the other half was a smart decorated Office complete with pedestal desk, splitting the two scenes was a large map board which double as a huge red cross sign for the trench side becoming the hospital. Each side light appropriately as required. A mention here for the set builders, decorators and the prop team for the huge range of props, the well-dressed set and the efficient stage crew who worked quickly and silently in the many scene changes. This was one of the key elements in the success of this production. 

The cast in this show stepped up to their characters with skill, so often the audience is so familiar with the characters portrayed on screen that they can be disappointed by the characters on stage.  Most fortuitously that was not the case, there were so many elements of the original actors, but also their own interpretation.

Red Vaughan as Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson’s role) was so obviously the devious, twisting character out to escape his eventual doom (although never confirmed in the plot) his contempt for Captain Darling showing through so well. Overall his diction was good, although I did have some problem in ‘Major Star’ as he spoke upstage for some of this and the lines were sometimes lost. Red looked the part and performed his role well, very straight faced especially his feigned madness in ‘Goodbyeee’.

The role lovingly played by Hugh Laurie was portrayed with style by Liam Nixon, the mannerisms, the movement and acting was very good, Liam looked as though he really enjoyed this role from gorgeous Georgina, where he was very coquettishly superb, through to the hospital patient being mothered by Nurse Mary, his expressive face and little movements portrayed with care. A great character role performed so well.

Baldrick was played with style, that gormless character, the butt of humour, having to be battered around stage, putting up with the sharp tongue of Blackadder. Never an easy role to be so treated, but essential to the character and Paul T. Hanks wore the look of this downtrodden character well, even allowing himself to be dragged off stage by one leg, the scene where he eventually makes coffee for Darling was a joy to listen to, and his interpretation of Charlie Chaplin with his slug representing the Chaplin moustache.

The pomposity of Melchett needed a big character and a big man to fill the role played by Stephen Fry and here Rodger Richmond filled the role effectively, big and loud although easy on the eye and ear, clear well spoken, well performed. Portraying a character with a strange sense of humour regarding sending Darling to the Front as a privilege rather than a horror.

Owen Angier, the youngest male actor fulfilled the role of Captain Darling with a certain élan, a smoothness that brought out the intellectual superiority over Blackadder. This superiority wasn’t always portrayed as well as it could have been, but he more than held his own against the older cast members, nicely spoken clear dialogue and a good presence around the stage, whether hopping off stage tied to a chair or joining his fellow Captain in the final scene as they prepare to charge from the trench.

Addie Booth has had a busy time of it in this show, building the set and then being encouraged to appear on stage as Smith and Field Marshall Haig, for a first time performer he did well with both a ‘German’ accent and a ‘public school’ accent. A respectable and able performance.

This show wouldn’t be complete without Eva Mason as Bob and Eden Carver as Nurse Mary, both characters were well played, and Eva had the more glamorous opportunity replacing the gorgeous Georgina and getting away from her Army Uniform, looking the part in both costumes. Eden had the less glamorous costume, but the more important role and she played this with both the primness of a nurse and the flirtatiousness that she needed to use with Lieutenant George Colthurst St. Barleigh.

This show had just about everything going for it, the well-known characters, a well designed and built set although maybe the trench was a little too pristine and I had an issue with the actor’s faces being in shade at times in ‘Major Star’. These were minor niggles in a well-produced show, the set really came into its own on ‘General Hospital’ and the ease with which the set changed with the scenes. Well Directed, excellent costumes, it pays to get the best. Technically proficient and using video/film footage for the final moments of the show as the men go ‘over the top’, the scene of the local war memorial the poppies and the silence at the end, broken only by the loud applause of the appreciative audience, Well done to all.

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