Dad's Army

In spite of being a big fan of the television series, my last outing to see this stage derivative was filled with disappointment. The comedy contained within the script is so delicate that it is only when you see it done badly you realise how much of what was good on the small screen came from the magnificent group of performers assembled by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. It therefore goes without saying that I was apprehensive, but very excited, as I made my way to Dereham’s splendid Memorial Hall for Dereham Theatre (where the welcome is as warm as breeze through Walmington-on-Sea during the season) Company’s presentation of “Mum’s Army”, “Deadly Attachment”, “The Godiva Affair” and part of “The Cornish Floral Dance”

The first thing, the very first thing, I noticed as I took my seat in the pretty much sold out auditorium, was the presence of a Miss Holly Jones  and her five piece combo in the “Orchestra pit”. Intriguing! The set (Dave Filer, Kevin Jude and Haydn Rogers) was laid out as I had expected and Dereham’s commitment to getting their money’s worth from the excellent video screen persisted, as it figured largely as part of that set. Lighting (design Dec Matwij and operation Ollie Ludman) and sound (ETS) were just the job with the cast fully amplified. Unusual for a play, but it worked, and without a hitch.

Costumes (Michelle Blanks and Dereham Theatre Costumes) were variable. The uniforms were mostly good although Captain Mainwaring’s trousers and tunic didn’t seem to match. Now I think of it they didn’t seem to fit either. The various ladies dresses, swimsuits and accessories were outstanding and looked (as far as I could tell) in keeping with the war time period. The male civilian clothing was less impressive,  Pike, wearing a suit jacket and waistcoat and his army trousers. Before you reach for the pitchforks and flaming torches, I know that poor costume choices were as a result of quick changes but this was not the case last time I saw this show, where instead of skimping on the wardrobe they found clever ways around the many scene change problems.

Make-up (Sophie Blanks and team) was also an  issue. The younger platoon members were fine (Pike, Walker, Sponge) but with the exception of Sergeant Wilson and possibly Corporal Jones there seemed to have been little attempt to make the cast look like old men. This is absolutely fundamental to the whole premise of the show and Mr Godfrey who is in his 80’s looked to be about 48. Incidental props (Pennie Jones) were fine with some great rifles, telephones and period pieces spread around the set.

Of the supporting cast, I enjoyed Jack Doubleday as the Verger/Porter, Kevin Reeve as Café Owner/the Colonel/the Town Clerk and Doug Bailey as Serviceman/Private Sponge. The very important job of U-Boat Captain fell to Michael Stoker and he did not disappoint. Combining this with his cameo as the Vicar, Mr Stoker was indeed on top form. The ladies of the piece were all universally excellent from Selina Bhantoo as Edith/Beaut, Laura Bullimore as Waitress/Beauty and Charlotte Bunting as Ivy Samways/Beauty, through to Lavinia Pirret as Mrs Gray/Waitress, Emma Galley as Mrs Pike and the wonderful Philippa Baillie as Walmington’s own femme fatale, Mrs Fox. Miss Bullimore, Miss Galley, and Miss Bunting should also receive special mention for some outstanding harmonic and solo singing throughout the production.

Before I go through the more prominent performers, I need to say that this was a remarkable cast! Every single member of it was completely focused with no prompts, and a standard of stage-craft I really have not seen in such quantity for some time. They were, in every sense, a well drilled fighting unit. Mark Wells had the tricky job of Private Godfrey and despite his overly youthful appearance his characterisation was bang on! Equally so, Gareth Evans as Private Walker did everything required without even the suggestion of doing too much. Lee Chapman as Private Frazer received a well-deserved round of applause for his first “we’re doomed” and three of the four  biggest laughs with a disciplined performance that saw him front and centre stealing the scene  when he was required to do so, and then disappearing into the background when he wasn’t. To give you an indication of the control within the main performing group, I was concerned that Declan Matwij was going to be taking on Private Pike. Mr Matwij is a thoroughly nice chap who has impressed me time and time again in pantomime with his slapstick comedy and audience participation. You can well understand my concerns as I have never seen him do a character role before. I need not have fretted, with a perfectly (and I really do mean perfectly) paced delivery he brought the part to life with just the slightest nod towards Ian Lavender. A quality performance from a very accomplished young actor.

Captain Mainwaring is one of the most difficult parts in this production, with the spectre of Arthur Lowe always in everyone’s mind and a difficult characterisation to parody. Tony Wilds did not really attempt an impersonation but his superb performance allowed for a couple of wonderful suggestions of Mr Lowe. He and Pike getting stuck in the door … the glasses in the wrong position on his face and the stunned double take … it was just like being back home on a Saturday night in the 70’s. Corporal Jones was conceived as a caricature and I just knew that Colin Harris would have no trouble bringing Clive Dunn back to life. Mr Harris was excellent throughout and, most prominently in “The Godiva Affair”, showed some of the pathos that is as important to Dad’s Army as the comedy.

My overriding memory of my night in Dereham was the first time Lee Johnson spoke. I just leaned forward and gasped! I have seen Mr Johnson deliver two outstanding impersonations in the past (Edmund Blackadder and Hugo in the Vicar of Dibley) but as John Le Mesurier it made me shiver whenever he delivered a line. Of course Mr Johnson receives penultimate paragraph honours but not for his mimicry. To get a laugh from some of the lines in this show you need to be good, very good and great timing is what the original cast had by the bucket load. Mr Johnson delivered every line allocated to him at exactly the right time and at exactly the right pace. His physical movement may have been a little brisk for an older man but his grey hair and pale completion at least gave the suggestion of age. I am absolutely confident when I say if there were a National (professional) tour of Dad’s Army about to be cast I would back Mr Johnson against any other living performer in the part of Sergeant Wilson!

My compliments to Director, Paul Allum, for two very important things. His technical direction (blocking) which was flawless, and his unbridled success in capturing the spirit of the original television series. Mr Allum perfectly maintained the humour and charm throughout each of the four episodes. I have to say (sorry) that a lot of the other facets of this production were enormously untidy. Scene changes with six people running around the stage while dialogue is taking place, disappointing costumes and make-up, and I am not sure that the very high quality musical interludes were necessary. The first half was 1 hour 25 minutes and the whole show was way too long.  The video sequences were also a little odd - with one entirely devoted to the Americans winning the war and another showing the Germans and the Italians winning the war whilst dancing! The brilliantly observed closing credits on video ran before the last episode making me think it was the end and then, when it wasn’t it made me think it was getting late! Last moan, ….for goodness sake Paul, with that many stage hands (including Ollie Ludman) did you really have to have women in the U-boat crew ? Don’t feel too bad … everyone seems to make the same mistake….but it is ridiculous! I chuckled to myself at the (very pretty) lady in the dungarees and concluded that Germany was always going to lose the war crewing their submarines with Bananarama! I close by saying this, I loved this show, faults and missed opportunities and all. So many brilliant perfomances by a hugely talented cast. I was nearly in tears at several points during the evening, as I was overwhelmed by nostalgia and respect!

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