Dad's Army

After two years away, Circle Players made a terrific start to their new season in this their eighty eighth anniversary year.  Playing to full houses they brought some much needed comic relief with their production of Dad’s Army

We were treated to four episodes of this iconic television serial including ‘The Deadly Attachment’ which had the unforgettable line “Don’t Tell Him Pike” which received a huge cheer from the audience.  Anne Troman’s production brought the characters to life; the trick was not to embellish in any way the characters we all know so well.  Anne stuck to this and clearly was in tune with the material she was working with.  Her direction was clear and unobtrusive.

Captain Mainwaring played by Derek Wills could have taken over from Arthur Lowe, but Derek was never tempted to over-egg this crucial role.  The mainstay of the troops should definitely be mentioned in dispatches, Sergeant Wilson, Lance Corporal Jones, Private Frazer, Private Godfrey Private Pike and Private Walker, respectively and collectively Matt Round, Lee Tregellis, John Richardson, Bob Jeffcoat, Taylor Johns and Rob Hyland. They were astonishing facsimiles in their character portrayals, the facial tics, the subtle nuances, the endearing personality traits brought back the warm fuzzy feeling they created watching these much loved characters over the many years they were on air.  The rest of this large cast also came up trumps, weaving their roles around this British War Time comedy. 

The last, short episode we were treated to was a rendition of ‘The Floral Dance’  which had the audience joining in.

The set was well constructed, with great attention to detail. 

Welcome back Circle Players, you have been missed.

 

 

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