Having reviewed the fabulous Ken Dodd not so long ago click here at Tunbridge Wells I won't repeat myself as the show was just as great as it was then. In true Ken Dodd style just as long too at 5 hours, including the interval.
Illusionists Amethyst and excellent lady trumpeter, Joan Hind, made for much betters support acts though.
The main surprise for me was that I half expected Doddy to repeat the same jokes I had heard a year ago. Yet barely a pun was repeated.
Ken's 83 years of age now and to perform such incredibly long shows and to keep them fresh with new material is just outstanding.
There are many much younger artists who would never cope with the constant touring or the long hours he performs for each and every time. As variety shows go he must surely represent the best value for money in theatrical productions?
A packed Congress theatre thoroughly enjoyed this and the standing ovation was just a formality.
I'm glad I didn't read any of the reviews on this before seeing it as I think any form of write-up covering the story could have detracted from the enjoyment of this comedy/drama. Perhaps this is one of those occasions when just glancing at a rating alone is of some benefit?
Seeing the words "Damian Williams" and "comedy" on the advertising literature I had just assumed this was just that - a comedy.
Having seen Damian numerous times now , a guy who never fails to make you laugh, I think I just associated him with humour alone.
It was a surprise then that this 'Comedy' by Ron Aldridge and staged by Bruce James production turned out to be very different than expected.
It's the tale of a former furniture salesman who's aim has always been to be a successful stand up comedian. He now has his debut looming and we hear all the trials and tribulations, the highlights and lowlights of how he got to this stage. Our potential new comedy star also tells us how his wife Judy, her sister Sarah and his brother-in-law Roger all come into the equation in affecting his career.
To say any more would simply ruin the experience for those who will see this tale played out on stage in the future. It is a very clever piece of writing by Aldridge. Yes the great comedy is there and there are plenty of ad-libbing opportunities with audience interraction, something which Williams has always been a complete master of. But in equal measure to the comedy there is serious drama. It's much more of a 'Comedy with substance' than a comedy alone.
It's a really good play actually. A much lighter first half compared to the more serious, darker, second half. A play which pleasingly let's us see Damian, who to me is a brilliant comedy actor, be seen acting in a far more serious role and doing a mighty fine job of it too.
There's even some murder mystery type twists and turns thrown in. Just when you think the story is over there's another chapter to be told.
A thoroughly enjoyable play with Damian Williams once again delivering a wonderful performance.
Women On The Verge Of HRT Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne 16th-20th June 2009 Performance seen Tuesday, June 16th
Cast
Vera - LOUISE JAMESON Anna - JANET DIBLEY Fergal - Aidan O'Neill
2009 must be menopausal year or something in theatreland . Hot on the heels of Menopause The Musical here we have Women On The Verge Of HRT.
With the menopause being the subject of both shows it is easy to draw comparisons between the two productions. But they are very different.
Vera and Anna are friends and also 2 very obsessed Daniel O'Donnell fans staying in his hotel, The Viking House Hotel, in Kincasslagh.
Vera is convinced she has hit the menopause and that basically her whole world has come to an end as a result. No man, no sex, she's convinced she's ugly, unattractive and "past it".
Anna meanwhile is convinced she has the perfect marriage and that everything in her life is rosy and blooming despite the fact she is on the verge of "the change".
Two friends, with very different views on life sharing their womanly experiences.
The ever so helpful, handsome, young, hotel waiter Fergal finds himself in the middle of these hormonal women trying to cater for their every need.
Essentially Women On The Verge Of HRT is a comedy. But it is a much more unusual production than Menopause The Musical which was a sort of continuous light hearted look at the menopause.
This show has two very different acts.
Act 1 takes place in the hotel bedroom. This act is the more light hearted look at how the menopause is affecting the women. All the usual menopausal symptoms are joked about from hot flushes to night sweats - from sleep problems to sexual problems. With Vera (Louise Jameson) practically offering herself to Fergal on a plate whilst Anna (Janet Dibley) actively encourages her - there are laughs-a-plenty.
After this Act 2 comes as a bit of a shock as it is so completely different from the first. The 3 characters have ventured out of the hotel on to the beach of Donegal Bay.
To the sounds of the wind, the waves and the screaming banshee this is a much more soul searching experience as far as the women are concerned. Whilst this is still essentially a comedy this is a much darker, serious, thought provoking look at the effects (and perhaps after-effects) of the menopause.
Fergal undergoes weird but amazing transformations into the nearest and dearest of the two women. Male partners, female friends, he portrays them all. The women both learn more than a few home truths that some of their current menopausal feelings and emotions may be well misplaced.
I have to say (even as a minority bloke in the understandably female dominated audience) I thought Aidan O'Neill was excellent in the role. He has a long theatrical background and has done some TV presenting. But he is not the household name that the two ladies are. But in this show I feel he was the scene-stealer.
In act one his humerous banter with Vera and Anna is hilarious and he even gets the chance to demonstate an impressive singing ability. In act 2 we see Aidan's superb ability to throw himself into so many different acting styles, even playing the opposite sex.
I am fully aware, from mutterings, that some people in the, mainly elderly, audience didn't really understand Act 2 - especially Fergal's character changes.
However, even as a mere man, I think this was a good move on the part of writer Marie Jones.
It would have been easy to continue this look at "the change" in the same light hearted way that Act 1 did (and as did Menopause The Musical). But if this was the case I think it may have become a tad boring as all the menopausal symptoms had been covered in that first half of the show.
I thought Act 2 being deeper and somewhat mysterious does leave you with the feeling at the end of this play that you have seen something a little different from the norm.
I enjoyed Women On The Verge Of HRT, which can't be all bad when understandably it's going to be aimed at women.
The play works because of the very different presentations of the same subject matter across both acts. Also because it is superbly acted by 3 of the friendliest actors we have had the pleasure of meeting this year.
I must add a final note of praise to Jo Cameron Brown who is quoted as being the dialect coach. Louise Jameson and Janet Dibley's ability to hold a perfect and consistent Irish accent was impressive. Irish born Aidan O'Neill didn't have to work at this - for obvious reasons.
So if you're happy to accept a male view on a play which will probably, and somewhat sadly, mainly be seen by women, I thought it was very good - and very different!
Fiona Jones - Emily Trebicki
Harold Hopkins - Chris Leach
Miss Spencer - Anne Smith
Mr Price Hargreaves - Tommy Cannon
Mr Bloome - Bobby Ball
Lady Chesapeake - Sue Hodge Doris Povey - Evelyn O'Malley
The last time we saw Cannon and Ball was probably about 20 years ago at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings. That was a traditional Cannon and Ball stand-up-comedy routine far removed from acting in a stage play.
We saw this performace of Big Bad Mouse on Wednesday 2nd July 2008 in the company of no more than 80 others. It was a pathetically small audience. Even the front row was 80% empty!
Sadly poor attendences at the Devonshire Park Theatre are becoming common occurences. This has nothing to do with the quality of the shows. I feel the problem lies more with the local council.
The Friends of The Devonshire Park Theatre have raised thousands and thousands of pounds which has made the interior of the theatre quite beautiful. However the council have allowed the exterior of the building to deteriorate to the extent that I feel a holidaymaker could take one look at the building and think it looks like a bit of a neglected dump. I don't feel they do enough to promote shows either and advertising is poor.
Eastbourne Council ought to wake up to the fact that they have a major responsibily in keeping their theatres looking good outside, as well as inside.
At the moment the outside of 3 of Eastbourne's 4 theatres is far removed from the picture postcards of these buildings on sale in the shops.
Anyway did a poor attendance at Big Bad Mouse equal a poor show?
Not in the slightest. In fact it has to be one of the funniest comedies we've seen.
In a strange way the lack of audience helped here. Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball used this to their advantage.
Tommy Cannon appeared on stage, walked to the front, looked at the feeble crowd and started with something like "Bloody hell is that it?" That opening was a clear indication as to how the rest of the play was going to go.
First a quick summing up of the story: In the Chunkibix Ltd office Mr Price-Hargreaves gives the orders and Mr Bloome acts on them. Until, that is, Mr Bloome is accused of chasing a young female across Wandsworth Common, making him the hero of every female in the office including Miss Spencer. Bloome's transformation is so huge that when the young woman discovers she made a mistake in her identification Bloome is quite upset and is determined to keep her quiet.
The script? What script? Cannon and Ball take any script and literally throw it out of the window.
It has become a well known fact in this show's national tour that the rest of the cast are never quite sure what is coming next.
That unpredictability is what made this show work so incredibly well. Tommy and Bobby can use a small audience to their advantage. Many of the audience members became permanent targets for their humour through the evening and at times you could thing the cast were using the audience for their entertainment rather than the other way round.
Although the audience was a small one I don't think a single person left the theatre not having enjoyed the show. This was one of those occasions where ad-libbing, script changing and off-the-cuff humour results in a completely happy audience.
But the whole cast were stars, not just Tommy and Bobby!
Sue Hodge (probably recognized mostly as Mimi in 'Allo 'Allo) played the hilarious Lady Chesapeake expertly. Sue is no stranger to the theatre and in the last few years she has been part of nationwide tours of several productions.
Anne Smith has a wide range of theatre and TV credits these range from Evita in the West End to appearances in Eastenders and Birds Of A Feather. In Big Bad Mouse she is Miss Spencer the rather prim secretary who gradually becomes infatuated with "office stud" Mr Bloome.
Young actress, Emily Trebicki ,was absolutely hilarious as "office bimbo" Fiona Jones. We had seen Emily in a similar role in the tour of There's No Place Like A Home - she had been equally as impressive in that show. However Emily's credits aren't just in comedy . She trained at Christine Clarkson School of Ballet and Stage, has been in a wide range of theatrical productions, lots of pantomimes and undertaken TV commercial work. It seems that Emily's first TV show appearances must be just around the corner. However she is so lovely to meet and talk to I hope she continues the theatre stuff too.
Chris Leach's role is that of office lad Harold Hopkins.With his script and scenes following those of Emily Trebicki those 2 actors work together extremely well. He only graduated in 2006 and his credits are therefore minimal to date. But given his great comedy performance in this show his acting credits can only grow.
Finally there's Evelyn O'Malley as the Wandsworth Common victim. Evelyn's sections of the script are relatively short but they are still pieces that are delivered professionally.
Having now seen Big Bad Mouse performed in typical Cannon and Ball style I don't think it would ever be the same watching it acted perfectly by the book.
This was a whole new experience in brilliant "random acting".
Vera and Anna are friends and also 2 very obsessed Daniel O'Donnell fans staying in his hotel, The Viking House Hotel, in Kincasslagh.
Act 1 takes place in the hotel bedroom. This act is the more light hearted look at how the menopause is affecting the women. All the usual menopausal symptoms are joked about from hot flushes to night sweats - from sleep problems to sexual problems. With Vera (Louise Jameson) practically offering herself to Fergal on a plate whilst Anna (Janet Dibley) actively encourages her - there are laughs-a-plenty.
I am fully aware, from mutterings, that some people in the, mainly elderly, audience didn't really understand Act 2 - especially Fergal's character changes.
In a strange way the lack of audience helped here. Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball used this to their advantage.
Young actress, Emily Trebicki ,was absolutely hilarious as "office bimbo" Fiona Jones. We had seen Emily in a similar role in the tour of There's No Place Like A Home - she had been equally as impressive in that show. However Emily's credits aren't just in comedy . She trained at Christine Clarkson School of Ballet and Stage, has been in a wide range of theatrical productions, lots of pantomimes and undertaken TV commercial work. It seems that Emily's first TV show appearances must be just around the corner. However she is so lovely to meet and talk to I hope she continues the theatre stuff too.