Hi De Hi

This stage adaptation of the hugely popular British TV series, revisits the 1950's and Maplins Holiday Camp with its host of colourful characters. The Bourne Corn Exchange was transformed into the Rainbow Ballroom with table decorations, Yellowcoats, Maplins beer mats, party hats and lays, interesting information on the tables, a lovely memorial to the lovely Ruth Madoc with daffodils, with 1950’s music playing, the attention to detail was incredible. Front of House Yellowcoats, Alison Clarke, Alison Kirby, Libby Barber, Paula Huntley, Rowena Roberts, and Tegan Wyche.

It's the start of a new season and founder Joe Maplin announces that he is setting up a camp in the Bahamas and needs female Yellowcoats to go and work there. The annual "Miss Yellowcoat" competition will decide who. Imagine the rivalry! Camp cleaner Peggy, meanwhile, is thrilled at the prospect of a vacancy for a new Yellowcoat and convinces Entertainments Manager Jeffrey that she is the ideal candidate for the job. Ted is forced to employ numerous money-making schemes when his ex-wife turns up at the camp with a bailiff in tow and Yvonne and Barry Stuart-Hargreaves send the rumour mill into its usual overdrive when Gladys is overheard escorting Jeffrey into his chalet late one evening.

SKAMPS staging was very well done, for a small stage with very little room backstage they had made the most of the room they had.  The set consisted of an office, stage right, the staff area backstage, centre stage and stage left, and the director Jason Wilson had utilised the stage in front of the curtain and the floor in front of the stage to create the stage of the ballroom. Plus the extra piece of staging to create 2 chalets. Creative stage team – Jason Wilson, Rowena Roberts, Jo Stubbins, Lorraine Spencer, Tracy Hulme, Sarah Owens and carpenter - Ian Harry Harrison. A very good job, all.

Into the mix of dialogue Jason had included dance numbers, knobbly Knees competition, songs, a skit of the Wilson Keppel & Betty Sand Dance, Goodnight Campers sing-a-long, and the old favourite, If I were not upon the Stage, which was hilarious. The audience appreciated each item and applauded nearly every scene too. The engagement was really great and the players all interacted very well indeed. A true party atmosphere was created.

I feel SKAMPS are very lucky to find amongst their players skilled actors to take on Ted Bovis (Phil Briston), a very convincing, Paul Shane look-a-like, with the right body language and interaction with the audience. Sarah Owen as the sultry Gladys Pugh, with the right amount of Welsh accent, lovely mimicry of the well loved Ruth Maddoc and excellent comic timing. But the star of the show for me was, Tracy Hulme who played the irrepressible Peggy Ollerenshaw, the Lancastrian wannabe Yellowcoat. Su Pollard is synonymous with the roll, and Tracy was excellent in her voice work, accent, timing, pace, singing voice, facial expressions and body language. All three actors were entertaining and fantastic to watch.

Adrian Worgan played the role of Jeffrey Fairbrother with panache.  This put-upon character has to deal with so much in the show, being chased by the lovely Glady’s, flirted with by the Yellowcoats, he gets drunk and has to lay asleep onstage for quite a time.  Adrain did very well and I enjoyed his acting choices and characterisationStuart Giddings did a very good job as Jeffrey Holland’s Spike Dixon, he made the role his own, with excellent body language and diction in the roll. I loved his ‘Betty’ get up and other funny outfits. I felt he could have played more on this and perhaps flirted more with the Yellowcoats and interacted more with the other characters on stage.  Alex Moores on the other hand was tremendously exacting in his portrayal of a grouchy Mr Partridge.  He was very believable and used comic timing and pace of delivery to enhance his performance.  Andrew Tiplady played Fred Quilly the jockey.  His costume was great and you could almost smell his boots, through his acting choices and body language. Barbie Miller and Mick Cockerill were less successful in their portrayal of dance partners Yvonne and Barry Stuart-Hargreaves. A shame not to see them dance together, but they held the tension in the chalet night scene and their facial expression were very  good.

The adorable Yellowcoats were played by Emma Roger, Becki Oliver, Hilary Hull and Jes Forbes.  They were excellent, at all times. Keeping up the action, the singing and dance routines (Choreographer Hilary Hull). They  helped actors on and off stage, and filled the staff room with movement whilst at all times, acting in the role, just excellent. They encouraged the audience participation and got everyone shouting back Ho De Ho and joining in the frivolity when required. They looked the part, they acted well, they sang and danced with skill, overall their performance as a foursome was really brilliant.

Thomas Beach a newcomer to SKAMPS played the Bailiff and holidaying Policeman, Mr Pritchard. Well-executed cameos with well-rehearsed movements and good diction. I hope to see him in other roles with SKAMPS very soon. A last-minute change to the actor playing Hilary Bovis. It was to be played by Lorraine Spencer, who was taken ill during the show and with just 5 minutes' notice, Sharon Middleton was put on stage. I had no idea! Her performance was really good, playing the greedy wife of Ted Bovis, with excellent characterisation and good interaction with other members of the cast. Well done.

The programme design was really good. It was filled with information about the original TV series and pictures of the SKAMPS cast and specially commissioned cartoons. There was a competition with pictures of famous people who had their career launched by holiday camp work and a double page spread of pictures and remembrances from 1950’s Bourne, it also included a lovely memorial to Ruth Maddoc who lived near Peterborough and died at the end of last year. Plus, pictures of signed photos sent to Jason from Su Pollard, Jeffrey Holland and Barry Howard. This was a really interesting read and I shall be putting this forward to the NODA programme competition. I also appreciated the Facebook promotion during the lead-up to the show, I hope this increased your ticket sales. (Social Media and Programme Jason Wilson and Becki Oliver.)

Costumes by Joanne Henderson, Tracy Hulme, Sarah Owen, and Jason Wilson, which wereall  excellent. (Although Phil’s trousers were a little long.) So reminiscent of the 1950’s, even Peggy’s dress was of the right style despite being under her wrongly done up overalls, most of the time. Jason has gone to great lengths to embellish his production and utilise many small touches that enhanced the staging. Fred Quillys ‘silks’ and leather bag were just right, the pleated skirts and style of shorts on the Yellowcoats, perfect, the stage dressing and props were just right for the era. I loved it. (Props – Jason Wilson, Rowena Roberts, Jo Stubbins, Lorraine Spenser, Tracy Hulme, and Sarah Owens.)

The whole production ran smoothly, backstage were Sharon Middleton, Andrew Fenn, Lucy Abbey, Stuart Brown and Jo Henderson with sound and lights Paul Shepherd and Simon Sleight under stage manager Lydia Henderson. The scene changes were often masked by dance numbers and this kept the audience entertained and made the whole thing feel slick and professional.

Overall, a very successful production, with huge attention to detail and a true celebration of the Hi Di Hi television show and the holiday camp era. I was a Pontins Bluecoat in the 1980’s and felt myself reminiscing about all the capers we got up to, but what I remember most was the camaraderie and sense of family that was created. (I am still friends with people I worked with there.).  Jason Wilson demonstrated a good understanding of directing in this show, especially worth noting that it was his first time as director and I commend him for his skills. This production was also full of fun and generous acting by the cast and great production support from the whole team, I could tell you were all having a great time and the fun was infectious.

Thank you.

 

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