Hamish and Dougal

This show was a comedy based on the hit Radio 4 show I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue written by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden and adapted by the Director Ian Robinson.

The sets were good and changes were worked well by the stage crew and kept the action moving. The costumes were suitably Scottish and the props were effective. There were a couple of lighting issues, nothing major and all the actors had good projection for sound as no microphones were used.

The script was very obviously written by Cryer and Garden and as this was based on Radio shows most of the humour was verbal but Ian Robinson and Joanne Callander had put in some great visual comedy. Of course with radio the scripts are written as short pieces but again these were nicely joined together so it ran as a show. The only piece which didn’t quite work for me was the songs at the end but the audience seemed to enjoy being able to sing along to 500 miles.

The music prior to the show and as incidental music throughout was brilliantly played by Still Reeling an accordion and violin duo.

All of the actors put in fabulous comic performances and those playing the straight roles such as Mrs McAllister played by Kath Ashworth were great.

Barry Callander as Laird put in a good strong English Gentleman performance and Ashley Hambrook as Humph held the stage when on it with nice comic expressions.

Mrs Naughtie as the housekeeper was played wonderfully by Siobhan Edge. Good diction and well delivered comic and dry lines made this part very watchable.

The two leads played by Andy Burke and Steven Catterall were brilliant. Andy had many Eric Morecombe mannerisms and without speaking made me laugh. His glances and asides were funny. Steven had cracking timing and I loved his deliberate delivery. Both had worked hard on their accents and their relationship with each other and ease of dialogue between them was very comfortable. Great comedy duo performances and a really enjoyable evening on a brand new never seen before stage show.

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