Up Pompeii

Having seen several productions by this Company, I was aware of the high standard they are capable of achieving and was very much looking forward to writing my first review for them.  Needless to say they once again produced a corker of a show making my job very pleasurable indeed.

“Up Pompeii” was originally a successful television series starring Frankie Howerd as Lurcio the slave. This was followed by three films before the TV series was adapted for the stage by Miles Tredinnick. True to the show’s origins the play is full of double entendres, risqué jokes and Lurcio’s asides to the audience, trying to keep them up to date with the chaotic plot.

Richard Pink excelled as Lurcio the slave, a part which kept him on stage virtually all evening.  There were also some very good performances from Becky Faulkner as Voluptua, Kerry Wheeler as Erotica, Nancy Jones as Suspenda and Billie Kerr as Ammonia the promiscuous wife of Ludicrus These ladies held nothing back, throwing themselves, in some cases literally, into their aptly titled roles.  Andy Roberts gave a very good performance as Ludicrus Sextus, sparing almost nothing for the sake of his art, leaving the uninitiated in the audience wondering if there had been a costume malfunction at the end of Act 1!

There were other very good characterisations.  Sean Burke as the dithering Nausius, Granville Rush as Captain Treacherous, Mike Cooke as the half-witted Kretinus, Deborah Cain as Senna the Soothsayer, opening the proceedings and giving us a taste of what was in store and Paul Winspear as Correous. These were all very slick performances.

Occasionally in a production a weak link presents itself in the form of an actor who does not come up to scratch.  Not so here. Under John Bell’s direction the acting was of a consistently high standard.  Any deviations from the script, and I’m sure there must have been a few, were well covered by a team of experienced actors who all looked as though they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

My congratulations to those involved with the set design and construction.  A smouldering volcano is surely not the remit of many set designers. This one may not have always smouldered on cue (was this accidental or scripted? and does it really matter?) but the catastrophic events of its eventual eruption were very well done.

The costumes on the whole looked authentic.  Occasionally there were signs that some had been adapted from modern day dress but this is a minor criticism. Overall the costume plot was interpreted to a high standard.

Well done Water Lane Theatre Company on another very good production.

Thank you for inviting me.  I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

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