Brassed Off, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne

 12-16 September

Brassed Off 

Main cast
Jeffrey Holland - Danny Ormondroyd
Christopher Connel -Phil
Miriam Edwards - Sandra
Ash Matthews - Shane
Clara Darcy - Gloria

Well this raw, gritty production is about as far removed from Hi De Hi as Jeffrey Holland is ever likely to get. Playing Danny Ormondroyd , conductor of Grimly Colliery brass band Jeffrey delivers a heartfelt performance. It was acutally a pleasure seeing him in such a role.

Based on a true story in the early 1990's (the actual setting was Grimethorpe) Danny is fighting to keep the band together following the announcement that the local pit is to be closed.
If you haven't seen this wonderful play which features the cast playing it's own brass instruments magnificently then you really should give it a chance.

I'm not going to delve into the storyline too far here. Quite simply it's far too easy to spoil what is a very emotional story. On the subject of emotion it would be unfair not to mention Chris Connel's exceptional portrayal of Phil as he nosedives into deep depression. 

The story may be raw and depressing but the mood is lifted by the brilliant brass band recreating the tunes which were played by Grimethorpe Colliery band.

If you are looking for a play which is based on fact, not fiction, Brassed Off makes for a great night out and opens your eyes to the terrible impact the pit closures actually had on individuals, relationships and on complete families.

It's Never Too Late Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne Review

It's Never Too Late

Devonshire Park Theatre

Eastbourne

29 June- 3 July 2010

(performance seen 29 June)

Cast (appearance order)

Susan Shaw - Joanna Van Gysegham

Linda Bridges - Judy Buxton

Peter Bridges - Jeffrey Holland

Henry - Stan Pretty

Thomas - Michael Shaw

Richard Shaw - Ian Saynor

The story of It's Never Too Late by Ron Aldridge essentially revolves around the character of Susan Shaw (Joanna Van Gysegham). Her husband Richard (Ian Saynor), as part of a mid-life crisis, has left her for a younger woman.

Starting off as an emotional, somewhat downtrodden, wreck it is time for Susan to make changes to improve her life and well being.

Her friends are by her side to help (and hinder) her in her seemingly impossible quest.

Her girlfriend Linda Bridges (Judy Buxton) is there both as a shoulder to cry on and as fitness instructor to try to get her back in shape. Linda's husband Peter (Jeffrey Holland) is there to poke fun at just about anything Susan Shaw says or does as she tries to convert from frumpy to fit.

Henry and Thomas (Stan Pretty and Michael Shaw) try to win the affections of Susan now this middle-aged 'fish' has apparently been thrown back in the sea.

Meanwhile her estranged husband, Richard (Ian Saynor), battles his own conscience as to whether he has done the sensible thing in trading her in for a younger model.

The set is simple but effective with all the action taking place in Susan's living room.

I like comedies that entertain from the outset and that is what this one does. The background to the Shaw's separation is clear within the first few minutes. With all the characters apart from Richard being on set from the beginning it's a quick introduction to their characters too.

Joanna Van Gysegham is great in the lead role, there's probably many a middle-aged woman that can sympathize with her dislike of the aerobic routines she attempts to undertake to get in shape.

Real life husband and wife team Jeffrey Holland and Judy Buxton work so well together on stage. They are also very familiar with the Devonshire Park theatre where they have appeared in several plays over the years. To be fair Jeffrey's role in this play may not be the biggest but his mickey-taking of Susan is both witty and believable. Judy meanwhile has a very big role (and script!) in this show and she is excellent in demonstrating the patience of a saint whilst trying to get Susan out of the emotional hole she has dug herself into.

Ian Saynor may have a fleeting appearance compared to the rest of the cast but when he does appear he fits the bemused and confused part of Richard Shaw very well.

Then there's 'gentleman' Henry. Stan Pretty is great in his efforts to impress Susan, a woman he has apparently  always had a 'thing' for.

That just leaves Thomas (Michael Shaw) who is more than a little strange. A total contrast to gentleman Henry, Thomas is somewhat of a loner - a bit of a geeky, Mr Bean-ish, trainspotting type (sorry trainspotters).

I know the rest of the cast won't mind me saying this but Michael is the most hilarious star of this show. I know from Joanna that whilst he had the original script at casting Michael made the role his own and made many adjustments to it. I'm also aware that he has been known to change things he has done from show to show so the cast are never quite sure what he's going to come out with next!

The resulting character is so incredibly funny as he tries to win Susan's heart by impressing her in any way he can. By being more confident, more macho, by buying gifts - he tries the lot, each attempt keeping the audience in stitches.

To sum up this was a nice, consistently entertaining, comedy played by a believable, warm and friendly, cast which I would gladly see again in the future.

’Allo ’Allo Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne 4th Nov 2008

Cast

Jeffrey Holland - Rene Artois
Vicki Michelle - Yvette Carte-Blanche
Peter Alexander - Colonel Von Strohm
Judy Buxton - Michelle Dubois
Martin Carroll - Captain Alberto Bertorelli
Carol Ann Crawford - Edith Melba Artois
Marc Geoffrey - Flying Officer Fairfax
Allix Holland - Flying Officer Carstairs
Matt Jamie - General Von Schmelling & Officer Crabtree
Nell Jerram - Helga Greenhardt
Richard Mark - The Piano Player
James Rossman - Herr Otto Flick
Robin Sebastian - Lieutenant Hubert Gruber
Richard Tate - M. Leclerc
Bronya Deutch - Peasant

First things first. A very full Devonshire Park Theatre. Not a sell out, but not too far off. And it wasn't opening night either. So what did 'Allo 'Allo have to draw in such a large audience that so many other very high quality shows this year could not manage.

The stars? Well it's a large cast indeed but the only major household celebrity names are Jeffrey Holland and Vicki Michelle. Jeffrey has appeared in excellent productions at the Devonshire many times before and as friendly and popular as Vicki Michelle is I don't think she was the reason for the big turnout either.

I think the attraction of this show is the sheer timeless popularity of the TV series itself, which has become a worldwide hit. The humour is inoffensive, consistently funny and despite the fact the subject of the 2nd World War could have offended so many different nations it is still as popular now as it was when it was first on our TV screens.

So we have a cast made up of many people I have never seen before. How does the final production compare to the TV show?

Extremely well indeed is the easy answer and this is despite the fact that the set itself never changes for the whole show.

Speaking to Vicki Michelle after the performance she did say that when the tour first started there were worries that people might not be able to accept Jeffrey Holland as Rene Artois.

However, if Gordon Kaye has been to see this himself though I am sure he would be very impressed with the resulting performance - it's spot on....... and even the moustache is real! I would have liked more than one occurence of "You stupid woman!" to wife Edith in the script. Rene getting caught in a clinch with Yvette just the once, but the script isn't down to Jeffrey.

Vicki Michelle, of course, plays her original character Yvette and you wouldn't expect anything but an equally good performance which she delivers.

But how do the lesser known actors fare?

Well, for me at least, the whole cast delivered a performance that left you able to relate them directly to the original show and cast.

I could rave about them all but I'll restrain myself to a few highlights.

Judy Buxton (Jeffrey's other half in real life) plays Michelle Dubois of the resistance brilliantly giving, as usual, many vital instructions "only wince".

I thought Martin Carroll's almost clone-like appearance as Captain Bertorelli was outstanding. All the more so considering he said he only watched a couple of TV shows before the tour began.

Helga, the rather stern, but attractive, sexual plaything of Herr Flick is played by Nell Jerram, I thought she was so good she could easily have been in the original TV cast.

The last cast member I will mention, without any detriment to the rest of the talented cast, is Richard Tate as M. Leclerc. Again I thought he excelled in delivering a great replication of a familiar TV character.

The script itself has been cleverly written to deliver all those things present in the original TV series but without giving you the impression that it is recycling an old story.

The sexual inuendo is there, the Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies, the german sausage, the appalling French spoken by Officer Crabtree, lots of campness from Lieutenant Gruber and laugh after laugh delivered throughout the show.

For me the show only lacked one tiny but still vital thing.

When the script was written by original 'Allo 'Allo scriptwriters Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft they clearly went out of their way to include all the old favourite characters from the TV series.

But where is Madame Fanny, Edith's mother and of course Rene's mother-in-law-from-hell?

In spirit she is there in the stage show, always upstairs, in bed. But I feel that when you've done such a good job of including characters such as M. Leclerc it shouldn't have been too difficult to include casting "the old bat" too.

However considering this was a fantastic show this omission is really nitpicking what must be one of the best ever replications of a comedy TV show.

A great evening's entertainment and I doubt many, if any, of those many audience members regretted going.