Some Mothers Do 'Ave' Em

Phoenix Players is very proud to be one of the first amateur companies to present ‘Some Mothers do ‘Ave ‘Em’ which was written especially for the stage and performed in the West End in 2018.

Those of us who remember the 1970’s TV series, starring Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, will recall just how accident-prone this man is and that everything he touched fell apart. DIY skills were non-existent and no matter how he tried he never seemed to keep a job for longer than a week. His conversations left many people baffled, apart from his loving wife Betty, played by another well-known actor, Michele Dotrice.

Director Neil Mather has ensured that none of the humour and mishaps are omitted making for an excellent production. With chair legs falling off, the sofa collapsing, wallpaper and pictures coming away from the walls and numerous incidents with the cooker the action was relentless. Every time the doorbell went the table lamp started to flicker and with visitors coming and going all the time, it all just added to the mayhem. The plot and dialogue just got more and more complicated as the story line progressed. The cast all made quick entrances and exits; that is, when they weren’t falling over Frank’s disastrous DIY jobs. All this was achieved by excellent direction, and pace,  good diction, and articulation from the cast and with the support of the technical, back-stage and wardrobe teams.

The audience always expect actors to be a replica of their TV character and from his very first entrance Lee Sanderson brilliant performance was spot on as Frank Spencer. The raincoat, black beret (at the correct angle), the mannerisms, facial expressions, body language and speech emulated the character exactly. With copious amount of very difficult dialogue and complicated plots, Lee hardly came up for breath and very rarely left the stage. He was constantly on the move as he went from one disaster to another.

Betty Spencer is the other character bringing high expectations and Jess Vardy did not disappoint. Jess’s performance was superb, and her characterisations, accents, and dialogue ticked all the boxes. As the plot moved on, Betty tried to tell Frank that she was expecting their baby, but no matter what Frank totally mis-understood until the last minute of the play. 

Father O’Hara, Mrs Fisher, David Worthington, Terry Luscombe, Leslie Robin and a constable of the local police force join Frank and Betty to add to the confusion and misunderstanding of Frank’s actions and conversations - especially when he talks about a missing watch and becoming a magician.

It is not easy to maintain any accent throughout a production, but Michael Hague-Flint’s wonderful Irish accent and portrayal of Father O’Hara was very impressive. Gaynor Robinson was marvellous as Mrs Fisher (Betty’s snobby mother) and the scenes where she got drunk on Frank’s prune wine were exactly right (if not exactly right, drunken scenes can go a bit over-the-top). Gaynor also had one heck of a section of dialogue that needed a lot of articulation and all beginning with the same letter - amazing.

Mark Hague-Flint had taken on two different characters. Firstly, as the pompous financial advisor and friend to Mrs Fisher, David Worthington, who was under the impression that Frank wished to invest some money. However, Frank only wanted a loan but with not earning a salary was unsure how to pay it back. This was an insult to David who made a quick exit.  Mark then re-appeared as a totally different character, the very flamboyant director Terry Luscombe, who came to interview Frank as a possible candidate for a TV series, which was not true. Also with two roles, Frank Bardsley played Leslie Robin, the TV cameraman, who was kept busy running around with the “clipboard “doing re-takes thanks to Frank Spencer’s inability to understand the procedure of filming. His second appearance was again totally different as a police constable and, adding to the confusion, this was all to do with Frank’s magical missing watch. Mark and Frank gave very good performances as their different characters. It’s not easy switching from one to the other; not just a change of outfits, but characterisation as well.

A lot of hard work and many rehearsals have gone into making this a superb production which sped along superbly. The set was well thought out and the cast used the set and props to full advantage. Congratulations to the cast and creative team and the applause was well deserved.

Thank you for the invite, the hospitality and for making us laugh over a most enjoyable evening.

Sue Cox 

NE Region 14 - Drama. 

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.