Dad's Army

Perhaps the most fondly remembered of all TV sitcoms, the long-running and endlessly repeated ‘Dad’s Army’ has a timeless, nostalgic, warm and cosy feel even today. Characters so well drawn on our TV screens that they almost feel like part of the family; plots which have ingrained themselves into the popular consciousness; catchphrases and comedic utterances which have become part of the lingua franca... ‘Dad’s Army’ seems a perfect choice for a screen to stage transfer. Given my oft repeated and fairly well-known doubts about the transfer of well-loved television classics to the stage – the danger of falling between the two stools of disappointing an audience with a pale imitation of a familiar part of their cultural memory bank, or taking things too far with a radical reinterpretation – I must admit to having felt a certain amount of trepidation when approaching the performance. I needn’t have worried however: here was a production which fizzed with life, good humour and which everyone involved with made completely their own, resulting in a superb interpretation of which director Angela Boult should be justifiably proud.

Comprising of three episodes of the TV show, the play consisted of three stand alone one-act pieces: ‘The Deadly Attachment’, ‘Mum’s Army’ and ‘The Godiva Affair’ and as there can’t be anyone reading this report who has been hiding in a cave in Outer Mongolia for the last fifty years and therefore won’t have an understanding of the episodes in question, I shan’t bother to give a detailed breakdown of the plots again here! Leading our hapless heroes as pompous Captain Mainwaring, Barry Jackson did a marvellous job of imbuing his characterization with just the right combination of the familiar and the fresh. Eschewing an attempt at a second-rate impression of Arthur Lowe, Barry kept the flavour of the character while at the same time adding something different, creating something new and interesting, resulting in a much more sympathetic and well-rounded character on stage than the often pantomime antics of his TV counterpart, which was a real achievement. Ken Horsfield as Sergeant Wilson took John Le Mesurier’s laid back insouciance and general air of aimless noblesse oblige while similarly making the role his own, creating something fresh and new from this well worn character. Dennis Royle as Lance Corporal Jones was a delight: at no point did I yearn for antics of Clive Dunn for here was another performance which embraced the essence of the character rather than a half hearted impression of a familiar face. A superb and intelligent reading of the role which had depth as well as humour, Dennis really had the audience in the palm of his hand all night. Peter Hampson as the dour Scot Private Fraser was  appropriately gloomy and short tempered and added a darker edge to his character which was most welcome and Jon Ranwell made a cheerfully naughty Private Walker: two more performances which were well-drawn and added extra flesh to the bones of the TV originals. Loveable old Godfrey – he of the unfortunately temperamental bladder – was brought to life with a delicate charm and real sympathy by Geoffrey Holgate with Tim Mason completing the line-up of front rank troopers from the series as Private Pike. Tim’s Pike was a really fantastic interpretation which combined the best of both giving the audience enough of the original and including something new: a great creation deserving of a special mention.

Leading the supporting players, Mark Brady as Warden Hodges and Orm Green as the Verger excelled and I was particularly taken with Marina Butterworth’s flighty Mrs Fox! Dorothy Broughton brought a warmth and poignancy to the ‘Mum’s Army’ segment of the evening with a beautifully drawn performance as Mrs Gray: her scenes with Barry were excellent and both actors worked a magic with the script in their scenes together, making it my favourite of the three ‘episodes’. With the rest of the cast providing solid support and without a weak link in the ensemble, here was a production which was both humorous and warm hearted, providing a packed house with an evening’s entertainment which was of the highest standard with a charming musical finale rounding the night off in fine style.

Technically, the show was mostly adept – and with a magnificent set – but I did think that maybe the sound could have done with a little work as some lines didn’t quite make it up to my seat in the circle as clearly as they might have. I wasn’t really overly-enamoured of the filmed inserts either but as a crafty way to cover scene and costume changes, full marks for innovation there. The great set, excellent costumes and thoughtful staging/ blocking (using the whole of the theatre space intelligently) all went towards really bringing the performances to life and my congratulations go to director Angela Boult for knitting together a great evening at the theatre. And – ‘Don’t Panic!’ – I managed to get through the report without resorting to a hackneyed peppering of ‘Dad’s Army’ catchphrases throughout... well almost. Just don’t tell anyone Pike...

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