Dad's Army

The opening of the play involved projected images of the television equivalent of each character on to the closed curtains, alongside the actor playing the part in the play.  It was really professionally done and a lovely introduction to the piece.  Likewise, the set was very impressive with good attention to detail and easily adapted to the different scenes and locations.

The play itself, directed by Heather Durbin, involved 4 separate episodes with some great music played between scenes to evoke the era.  Despite it being the opening night, the cast settled into the roles quickly delivering their lines with confidence and pace.  I felt occasionally slow pick-up between lines impacted on the comedy but I’m sure this will have tightened up during the run.  Likewise I was distracted by the lengthy breaks between scenes which often extended well beyond the time taken for setting and resetting. 

Costumes, hair, and make-up were very good and appropriate for the period although out of place tattoos could easily have been covered by a long sleeved dress or cardigan.  Props were also used effectively to reflect the wartime setting and a most impressive and realistic armoury was on display.  One minor niggle was the use of obviously empty cups and saucers in the café scenes – better to leave them out of sight until they are served.  However these are minor points in what was a very enjoyable production.

The highlight was undoubtedly the very talented cast. Each actor had gone to considerable efforts to both look and sound like their television counterparts which, sadly, I am old enough to remember! 

There were some lovely moments of comedy with now legendry lines such as “Don’t tell ‘em Pike” and “whistle while you work, Hitler was a twerp, he’s half barmy, so’s his army…” all fondly remembered by many in the audience.  It was also enjoyable to hear the cast’s vocal talents on display in the rousing ‘Floral Dance’ finale.

This is the second production I have seen from this company and it seems to be a tradition that they chose an appropriate cause to raise money for during the production.  In this instance it was for the Royal Marines in memory of a local young man who sadly lost his life in Afghanistan.  It is an admirable sentiment and makes the performances all the more poignant and relevant for both the young and not so young members of the audience.

All in all this was a very entertaining production, replicating the popular TV series and bringing to life it’s much loved characters. 

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