It's the cast
of 'allo 'allo. Actually it's not
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Forget the
Golden Jubilee - theatre audiences now have the chance to witness
a bit of a golden turkey.
The Plot
"June 2nd 1952, the day when gold was in the mind of the nation
as a new queen ascended the throne and The Lavender Hill mob pulled
off a daring bullion raid."
It's probable
that more people have seen the film of the robbery and subsequent
antics of the mob than the accession, thanks to the classic Ealing
comedy made in 1961.
Fast forward 50 years and as the nation prepares to celebrate a
Golden Jubilee. Theatre audiences can witness a bit of a golden
turkey as The Lavender Hill Mob comes to the Theatre Royal.
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| Mine's
bigger than yours! |
The cast includes
Clive Francis as the anonymous bank official Henry Holland trapped
in a grim life of routine travelling with the weekly bullion delivery
and Victor Spinetti as the crooked Pendlebury.
When the two meet in Mrs Fazackerly¹s lodgings, a plan is quickly
hatched to steal the gold, turn it into souvenir Eiffel Towers and
export it to France.
The Review
In the first act, Francis brings Holland to life like some fusty
old stand up comedian with some nice lines.
The interplay between Francis and Spinetti then promises much, as
they grapple with Mrs. Fazackerly (Claire Harding), her cooking
and her fastidious ways.
The recruitment of henchmen Lackery (Michael Melia) and Shorty (Jack
Wild) provides more laughs and the depiction of the actual robbery
is the comic highlight with Lackery¹s manic driving and Shorty
seemingly possessed on a bicycle.
Credit to Melia and Wild for achieving this with little more than
a steering wheel and a bell. So far so good.
| A
good first half but no direction in the second. Excellent performances.
jack wild is difficult to understand. friday night in nottingham
no audience only about 40 in stalls shame as it was enjoyable.
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| Dave
Beeby, Coalville |
But the second
half sees the task of making Englishmen abroad keeping tabs on their
haul into a rip roaring farce too much.
It¹s actually the script that fails which is strange as Clive
Francis is one of the adapters of the original screenplay and also
the director.
It¹s as if so much of the film script has been ditched, that
all the potential charm and most of the humour has gone with it.
The staging makes good use of an apparently simple set and throughout
the performance is certainly spirited, but I left wondering what
happened to the possibilities offered in the first half.
A few set pieces raise expectations in the second half, but there¹s
little of real substance to cheer about.
Don¹t come expecting the recreation of an Ealing comedy, prepare
for a farce that melts into lead rather than gold and you won¹t
go away disappointed.
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