Boeing Boeing
Little Theatre Company
The Dixon Studio, Southend on Sea
13th - 16th May 2015
Little Theatre Company
The Dixon Studio, Southend on Sea
13th - 16th May 2015
Let me begin by explaining that first of all I am not a fan of farces; don’t get me wrong, they are enormous fun to act in (I loved every moment of playing Mary in Run for Your Wife) but to watch I find excruciating. To me it’s a bit like being a circus clown - great fun to smash pies in each others faces but to watch it, I’m just thinking, “Why? Just talk it through. Now you have to clear up the mess!” Just my opinion and clearly I am in the minority as so many farces are hugely successful and have audiences rolling in the aisles with laughter.
So, on to Little Theatre Company’s production of Boeing Boeing the French farce by Marc Camoletti and translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans. We are introduced to a nice solid set with a simple but effective colour scheme, complementing each of the air hostesses uniforms.
I rather enjoyed the LTC Air Hostess, Kate Andrews, introducing us to the play as if we were actually on a real flight and again at the interval - nice touch.
The storyline is one that is familiar with most farces. Man has a flat - with more doors than average (7 in this case) - finds a cunning way of keeping (in this case) three women on the go - air hostesses from America, Italy and Germany. Along comes an unwitting friend who, along with a disgruntled yet efficient maid, attempts to keep each of them from meeting. Thereon ensues lots of chaos, kissing, sexual frustration, mishaps, near misses, misunderstandings and then eventually is brought to a tense yet satisfying conclusion.
All three hostesses, Gloria played by Laura Witherall, Gabriella played by Laura Harper and Gretchen played by Victoria Tewes are really good fun to watch and Julian Cottee as Bernard, the smug bachelor playing around with all three ladies, confident that his copy of the TWA timetable wouldn’t let him down, does a great job in this part.
I wasn’t really clear of Darren Harper’s character definition of Robert, Bernard’s friend from public school and thought that although he put in a wonderfully energetic performance that in places it was just a little too much. Ray Cooney, the master of farce once said, “People often ask me what the difference is between comedy and farce. Farce is about real people in crazy situations. It’s real and the audience must believe that this is real business. You really mustn’t overplay farce - keep it truthful.” “Comedy,” he says “is unreal people in a real situation, for example, as in an Ayckbourn play. Don’t mix it up!”
The person who put Mr Cooney’s words into perfect practice was Sue Morley as the put upon housekeeper, Bertha. Her deadpan delivery was spot on and she almost stole the show for me.
Cue Coordinator, Debbie Smallbone, deserves a huge amount of praise because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a farce with quite so many comings and goings as this one and every single cue was timed to perfection. All the costumes looked fabulous too.
Director, Colin Bott has done a great job with this play where cues and timing are everything. He also eeked out every piece of possible humour and despite its predictability, had the audience in fits of laughter.
The laughter of the audience is testament to how funny a play is and there was a huge amount of it in the performance I was at and everyone left the theatre with big grins on their faces. I will have to resign myself to the fact that I am definitely in the minority when it comes to farces. LTC have clearly done a First Class job of keeping their high flying customers satisfied.
So, on to Little Theatre Company’s production of Boeing Boeing the French farce by Marc Camoletti and translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans. We are introduced to a nice solid set with a simple but effective colour scheme, complementing each of the air hostesses uniforms.
I rather enjoyed the LTC Air Hostess, Kate Andrews, introducing us to the play as if we were actually on a real flight and again at the interval - nice touch.
The storyline is one that is familiar with most farces. Man has a flat - with more doors than average (7 in this case) - finds a cunning way of keeping (in this case) three women on the go - air hostesses from America, Italy and Germany. Along comes an unwitting friend who, along with a disgruntled yet efficient maid, attempts to keep each of them from meeting. Thereon ensues lots of chaos, kissing, sexual frustration, mishaps, near misses, misunderstandings and then eventually is brought to a tense yet satisfying conclusion.
All three hostesses, Gloria played by Laura Witherall, Gabriella played by Laura Harper and Gretchen played by Victoria Tewes are really good fun to watch and Julian Cottee as Bernard, the smug bachelor playing around with all three ladies, confident that his copy of the TWA timetable wouldn’t let him down, does a great job in this part.
I wasn’t really clear of Darren Harper’s character definition of Robert, Bernard’s friend from public school and thought that although he put in a wonderfully energetic performance that in places it was just a little too much. Ray Cooney, the master of farce once said, “People often ask me what the difference is between comedy and farce. Farce is about real people in crazy situations. It’s real and the audience must believe that this is real business. You really mustn’t overplay farce - keep it truthful.” “Comedy,” he says “is unreal people in a real situation, for example, as in an Ayckbourn play. Don’t mix it up!”
The person who put Mr Cooney’s words into perfect practice was Sue Morley as the put upon housekeeper, Bertha. Her deadpan delivery was spot on and she almost stole the show for me.
Cue Coordinator, Debbie Smallbone, deserves a huge amount of praise because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a farce with quite so many comings and goings as this one and every single cue was timed to perfection. All the costumes looked fabulous too.
Director, Colin Bott has done a great job with this play where cues and timing are everything. He also eeked out every piece of possible humour and despite its predictability, had the audience in fits of laughter.
The laughter of the audience is testament to how funny a play is and there was a huge amount of it in the performance I was at and everyone left the theatre with big grins on their faces. I will have to resign myself to the fact that I am definitely in the minority when it comes to farces. LTC have clearly done a First Class job of keeping their high flying customers satisfied.
WHAT THE AUDIENCE THOUGHT
Leslie Carr, 80, Eastwood
“They played the parts brilliantly. It was very real to watch, as if it was actually happening. They were all terrific!”
Leslie Carr, 80, Eastwood
“They played the parts brilliantly. It was very real to watch, as if it was actually happening. They were all terrific!”
Della Carr, 78, Eastwood
“It was bl**dy brilliant, the best laugh I’ve had for a long time. They are real professionals. A perfect team! I really like the intimacy of The Dixon Studio when watching plays.”
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Jackie Jones, 49, Eastwood
“It was fantastic, very funny. I thought it was flawless and they did it really well. They were all brilliant. I loved the maid. The costumes were excellent.”
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