The Locko Amateur Dramatic Society
30th,31st October and 1st November 2014
30th,31st October and 1st November 2014
Spondon Village Hall Derbyshire
Most people who now follow my BLOG officially or
unofficially, will naturally be a little puzzled as to why I am reviewing this
play. The majority of my writing is of a Pagan, folkloric and historical theme;
unlike my previous reviews, this play falls into none of those categories. It
is perfectly understandable and reasonable to wonder at such a phenomenon.
However, I had two friends acting in this play and it was a damn good night
out, so I am going to review it anyway.
The Locko Amateur Dramatic Society are a well known Am-Dram
group in the Derbyshire area, they have a long history and a reputation as
being one of the better groups in existence. The group is well respected for
their professionalism and quality performances.
‘No sex please we’re British’ is a well-known British farce
that was first performed in London in 1971, it represents something of a
transition in British theatre, standing at a point between the liberal 1960’s
and the glamour of the perhaps too liberal 1970’s. The play is almost a
throw-back to the period of the Brian Rix farces but stands on its own merits,
as a play of considerable humour and social observation.
Although never popular with the critics, the play remains
well loved by theatre audiences, is always a success when revived and has in
its time, seen big names such as Ronnie Corbett and David Jason appear. LADS
therefore had picked a near predictable winner if performed well but equally,
had a lot a live up to.
The plot revolves around a newlywed couple Peter and Frances
Hunter, a bank manager and his homemaking wife played by Chris Getty and the
charming Jenni Wildman. The couple wishing to make a little extra on the side,
decide to venture into the sale of what they think are harmless VHS films, mail
order from home. What they actually receive from the wholesale distributor are
foreign films of a pornographic nature and a selection of very interesting
postcards. The play therefore charts their varied attempts to dispose of said
items, without the superiors of the bank or the mother of the wife becoming
aware of the difficulties. Into this tangled web is drawn the Chief Cashier of
the bank, Brian Runnicles. Played with adoring panache by Ryan Preston Potter.
The main obstacles in the path of Peter and Frances being
that Frances mother Eleanor (played by Vicky Colclouh) is coming to stay and
that Peter’s boss, the area manager Mr Bromhead (played by John Taylor) is
rather sweet on her. This means that despite the best attempts of the Hunters
to dispose of said items quietly and without fuss, Eleanor is often in the way
and Mr Bromhead is constantly finding excuses to just drop by.
Increasing Brian Runnicles is drawn into the farce, making
many varied and occasionally incompetent attempts to dispose of the VHS tapes
and postcards. In this Ryan Preston Potter simply shone as a star performance
in a part first played by Michael Crawford. Indeed the brilliant characterisation
of Runnicles by Ryan Preston Potter was of such luminance, that the hall would
light up when he walked on stage.
After various attempts to contact the distributor the final
and successful one results in a major misunderstanding. Two young ladies arrive
to placate the Hunters, who are believed by them to be unsatisfied customers.
These two young ladies represent a rather novel approach to dealing with
complaints and were played by Janine Getty and Callum Jermaks-Salter. The
former simply oozing sex appeal on a stick, in the shortest nurse tunic I have
ever seen, while the latter hammed up his part in a truly delightful manner.
Together they gave the audience a wonderful comparison of two very differing
comedic styles.
During the course of the proceedings, two more characters
are added to the increasingly complicated plot, a Bank Inspector and a Police
Inspector. Eventually the plot like the white lies told by all concerned,
unravels to reveal both truth and deceit. Leaving the audience delighted by the
charm, the humour and risktaking of all concerned.
Locko Amateur
Dramatic Society (the LADs)
http://www.theladsdrama.co.uk/
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