Hi-De-Hi

"Morning campers”

…Right from the start you know where you are, the theatre is dressed as the hub of a holiday camp entertainment complex circa the 1960s with a Hawaiian themed bar, the camps radio booth and all the FOH team don the famous yellow coat uniform and to really get us in the spirit of things to come, ensure we’re all greeted with a “Hi-de-Hi!"

SAM Theatre seem to have found a formula which the audience lap up: stage spin-offs of famous television series as this production follows on from ‘Allo ‘Allo last year and announcing next year’s sitcom of choice as The Vicar Of Dibley, it’s clearly a popular concept amongst the membership and followers of the society.  

As you’d expect, Hi-De-Hi retains the original characters and the plot cherry picks the best situations and gags from the series.

Director Bill Jellyman has captured the essence of an end of the pier show / music hall ambiance in his presentation of the play, the welcome into the theatre from the yellow coats really aided this. The success of this recipe lies in the strained relationships and failed ambitions of the staff at the Maplin’s holiday camp.

Most (if not all) of the characters are either anxious about something, fed up with their role in the camp or in a fix (financially / unrequited love) which encouraged the actors to play their role as being genuinely down-in-the-dumps which sadly drained spark and energy out of some performances, working against the upbeat and lively ambiance needed. Not taking the characters too literal and, dare I say, playing the situations up for the humour would have aided the intended tone as first and foremost this is a comedy so we want to laugh at the misfortunes on display more than feel sorry for them.     

The cast have a brief to impersonate the originals as seen on TV and Rachel Barrington's Gladys Pugh and Dave Hunts Fred Quilly are spot on.

Oliver Bird played the child hating Punch and Judy performer, Mr Partridge – I had to watch old clips of the TV show to remind myself of this character to (mainly) try and understand why certain things were being done which didn’t read particularly well, in particular the constant gurning and face stretching which did present as being quite unusual and distracting for the most part.   

Relishing their every moment and leaving one of the biggest impressions of the night are the ‘much too superior for this folly’ Emma Birch and Paul Rendel as Barry and Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves, terrific humour executed from this successful duo performance.

Rosalind Ford did a sterling job as Peggy, Ros had to convey her impersonation in other ways and she did this tremendously with the knack of comic facial expressions and vocal trickery, it didn’t take long for her to show us exactly why she was suited to portraying this favourite character for so many fans of the show.

I could sense that many people in the audience had fond memories of this TV show and I have no doubt, based on the reactions of the packed house, that they were being lived up to.

Hi-de-Hi! shamelessly plays the nostalgia cards – and this production they come in abundance. Great fun.

“Ho-De-Ho”

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