Author: Mary Williamson

What a lovely welcome to Holland-on-Sea. When I saw Herr Flick walking across the car park it was instant recognition. Thank you to the Front of House team for making my first visit to the venue such a pleasure. It was good to have the opportunity to speak to the Director before the show.

The opening scene in a simple but appropriate and convincing set introduced us to the hapless Rene, played by Bernard Leatherdale who certainly looked and acted the part but I did miss the French accent. The farce began immediately with the introduction of his wife Edith and the two girlfriends, Yvette Carte-Blanche and Mimi Labonq, played respectively by Bridget Gregory, Karen Davies and Patricia Hunter. Each showed immediately their individual characteristics. Bridget certainly mastered the 'off key' singing. I particularly liked the flirty nature of Yvette which came across throughout the piece. Michelle Dubois, the agent, Sheila Bolton, was suitably undercover and very well played but I would have liked the very famous line 'Listen very carefully, I will say this only once' to have been more prominent.

The German characters played by Victoria Gusterson, Kerry-May Jackson and Ben Webb all held convincing accents and postured well. I was impressed with the good acting rapport between Helga and Herr Flick in all their scenes. Captain Alberto Bertorelli, David Lye, was definitely one of my favourite characters. David was a very convincing, slightly lecherous and scheming Italian.

Jake Jackson as Officer Crabtree was delightful. He showed a slightly awkward physicality which worked well and maintained the jumbled English really well. There were glimpses of John Cleese here and there which I enjoyed. The slightly hesitant nature of Roger Leclerc was a somewhat puzzling character but Fred Gregory's appearances here and there were part of the fun for me and the audience.

Lieutenant Hubert Gruber is not the easiest character to portray but Tim Burret played him with charm. It could have been a much 'camper' performance. Tony Carnell's authoritative General Von Schmelling was a very strong physical portrayal. Tony certainly managed to keep that amazing walk going!

I must congratulate David Lye on the costumes. They were magnificent and a real highlight of the show for me. Everyone wore their costumes well and it really enhanced the piece. Another very noticeable success for me was Jeff Bray's sound effects. Every cue was met promptly which was so supportive to the play.

Congratulations to a new directorial team for a fun filled evening which was much enjoyed by the audience. The genre of farce is a very difficult one. The fun certainly came across but the essential element of farce is a fast pace and delivery and this wasn't always quite there. I wish you both every success in your future productions.

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