Blackadder II – The Elizabethan Years

Blackadder II is a staging of the second series of the perennially popular TV show starring Rowan Atkinson. As with other Richard Curtis scripts, there is some freedom as to which bits of the original TV material one presents. This adaptation offered us excerpts from the episodes  “Head”, “Potato” and “Beer”.  

The action was played on each half of the stage. In Act 1 a table and chairs stage-right represented Blackadder’s home (and later, an inn and a boat, with a little re-arranging  carried out by the cast mainly) and a throne and stool stage-left formed Queenie’s stateroom. There were corresponding images projected onto the backwall to add detail.  The gaol was played in front of a simple black cloth. In Act 2 the two halves became the downstairs and upstairs rooms of Blackadder’s home. Using each half of the stage separately  was a judicious idea, and clearly an attempt to move between scenes efficiently.  

The costumes for this performance were excellent. They went a long way to building the authenticity of the piece and I’m sure contributed enormously to the actors’  characterisations. Blackadder’s leather with blood red detail was superb and Mason wore it  with flair. The Tudor style dresses were opulent and dramatic but didn’t outshine the men’s doublets. Make up was excellent – Gaoler Ploppy, in particular, was very well done. There were many wigs to tend to, and again these were generally good. This production was a real treat for the eye. 

The production was directed to mirror the TV series that we all know very well, and it  succeeded in giving us a taste of the original. The cast was well put together with age and  stature being broadly suitable. Mason was a strong lead and the cast visibly flourished when he was on stage. It’s no easy feat to find so many men in amateur theatre – and harder  again to find them with talent and at the right age!  A large ensemble can only be testament  to the strength of the society. 

The first act felt rather like a series of short comedy sketches – each played for its own  punchline rather than as part of a bigger story. However, Act 2 was much more fluid (and  just as funny) with a sense of a building suspense and a comedic resolution. It was also much better paced.

Mason Forrest played Blackadder as a tribute to Atkinson’s version. He had enough of the  original characteristics (especially the explosive initial consonants) to satisfy the audience but  was by no means a carbon copy. He led the cast with confidence and surety and was clear  and well enunciated throughout the evening, with good comic timing and a healthy  awareness of his audience – pausing to allow the laughs. By contrast, Phil Allen was not a  close copy of the TV character – playing the role with his own spin. He was clear and had  good posture and presence. It’s a tough part – fitting between the utter idiocy of Baldrick and the cocksurety and this was a confident and capable performance – a good foil for  comedy. 

Paul Wood gave us the dry, vacant Baldrick we were expecting. He had a similar rhythm of  speech to Tony Robinson and a suitably blank faced reaction to much of the action. His  physicality was suitably cowed, and his visual comedy was spot on. 

Beccy Hands’ performance was a very good, comfortable rendition of the infamous  character of Queenie. Again, Beccy chose the iconic elements of Queenie and added her  own take on other aspects. The tight voice with the raised pitch was instantly recognisable  which added to the comedy. She had no problem commanding the stage and was regal  from toe to crown. 

There were many supporting characters: Nursie was the nearest rendition to the original TV  series – Cath Griffiths had the same rounded timbre and used the same dry, wry delivery to add her dash of comedy to the mix; Mike Antrobus played both Walter Raleigh and Geoffrey  Piddle with a lovely RP accent and nice body language and facial expressions; Martin Kelly  as Melchet had a good accent and gave efficient and well-projected delivery; Ken Dagger  gave us a shifty, unintelligent gaoler in Act 1 – with a fine pair of legs! In Act 2, as Lord  Whiteadder, he made a good double act as the long suffering husband, using his facial  expressions to add to the comedy of Lady Whiteadder’s dialogue; Ruth Anderson made  nice use of her voice and posture to give two different characters - her domineering and  disapproving Lady Whiteadder was very well delivered with good timing, her descent to debauchery at the end was very ; Tony Henry’s caricature of Redbeard Rum was funny and  well-timed; Sue Wilkinson and Chris Moxon were both very capable performers in their small  roles as Lady Farrow and Simon Partridge. 

Sofia Robson was a delight as the court Minstrel and provided a live theme tune at several  points throughout the performance, parading through the auditorium, across the stage and  back out again. She also “announced” Queenie with a rendition of Greensleeves, which  became funnier each time. This was a great touch. 

This was a well-co-ordinated effort, which the society had clearly worked hard on to present  good quality comedy entertainment. Not-withstanding the lack of continuity in the first half,  there were plenty of laughs from the packed audience – surely the best measure of success.  The audience were well entertained, and Act 2 in particular, was a very successful rendition of a crowd-pleasing favourite. It’s not easy to stage large cast drama and Poulton Drama put together a very competent team both on stage and off, well-allocated to their individual  roles. Well done!

Many thanks to you all for a lovely night out. My companion is a real Blackadder fan and thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I hope to see you all again soon. 

Justine ⁂

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