REVIEW
✭✭✭☆☆ 3/5
Blimey! What a Motley Crew!
Chelmsford Theatre Work Shop’s
Production of
Going Postal
By Terry Pratchett & Stephen Briggs
Old Court Theatre - Chelmsford
✭✭✭☆☆ 3/5
Blimey! What a Motley Crew!
Chelmsford Theatre Work Shop’s
Production of
Going Postal
By Terry Pratchett & Stephen Briggs
Old Court Theatre - Chelmsford
I must be one of the few people who have never read one of the popular Discworld books by the late Terry Pratchett, so I was intrigued. The Chelmsford Theatre Workshop’s production takes place to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of his Discworld novels. Going Postal, is a comedy that sends up the modern telecom business with a man ordered to run a post office – a fate worse than death.
A recidivist criminal, Albert Spangler (Ian Gilbert) is hanged for his crimes. However, is he dead or alive? The character finds himself renamed Moist Von Lipwig, by a stately tyrant or angel (Jim Crozier). He sets him the task of sorting out the defunct Ankh-Morpork Post Office. This is rather topical at a time of Royal Mail strikes and complaints about post disappearing into a black hole of non- delivery or lost.
Along the way, Lipwig is allocated a parole officer/bodyguard, in the form of a Golem, Mr Pump (Mark Sutton) who has been underground for 240 years pumping dirty water. He appears as a giant, orange Flowerpot Man making sure Lipwig doesn’t escape. However, he isn’t allowed to harm humans, or is he? Read the small print.
There were some very topical jokes about the underperforming postal service, especially about pen pushers and tripping over rubbish on the pavement. There is even a transgender one. Mr Pump has his name changed to Gladys so that he can enter the women’s toilet. Lipwig meanwhile, begins to transition into Mr Good Guy inventing a stamp system.
Amongst the sacks of mail undelivered for over thirty years works a decrepit junior postman (Richard Pennicard) who is still waiting for promotion, and always follows regulations. He is accompanied by a young trainee postman (Maxwell Rose-Rogers) who for some reason has a thing about pins. Are you following the story so far?
A myriad of strange characters then appear in odd garbs, Richer Gilt (Martin Wilderspin-Lovell) is the leader of the board of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company. Dressed like Captain Hook with two hands, he struts and declaims and orders an assassin, dressed like Jack the Ripper, to murder our hero.
I take my hat off to Ian Gilbert, for his bravura performance. He dominates the stage, racing in and out, breaking the forth wall, and even doing a back flip somersault. There is also quite a few funny adlibs. He held the whole production together with his highly energised performance, ably supported by the rest of the cast. I would point out however, that some of the minor characters needed more vocal projection as they were very quiet.
The minimalist set is aided by the back projection for scene changes. There is also one interacting with the characters on the stage. The sound effect of whispering voices that were heard in Lipwig’s mind was also very effective.
All credit to the directors, Mark Preston and Lynne Foster, for making this very complicated play work. Although it was sometimes difficult to follow, especially by the likes of me, who hasn’t read any Pratchett. However, the audience are engrossed from start to finish. Meanwhile, I had lost the plot. It was like a surreal dream that is vastly entertaining, but you haven’t a clue what’s going on. However, Going Postal is a witty satire of the modern world with sinister undertones.
Review: Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The play continues on the 22nd and 26th – 29th April at 7.45 p.m.
Standard tickets are £12 Concessions* £10.00 (except Friday and Saturday) available online via our Ticket source page or by calling Ticket source on 0333 666 3366.
Please note that a fee of £2.00 is applied by Ticket source to all telephone bookings. There is a small fee (approx. 25p per ticket) for booking online.
Tickets are also available on the door at the Old Court Theatre from 45 minutes prior to the performance (cash and card payments accepted.)
*Concessions apply to under 18s and over 65s, unemployed and students with a valid student ID.
For queries regarding your booking, or to make exchanges, email the Booking Manager on: [email protected]
A recidivist criminal, Albert Spangler (Ian Gilbert) is hanged for his crimes. However, is he dead or alive? The character finds himself renamed Moist Von Lipwig, by a stately tyrant or angel (Jim Crozier). He sets him the task of sorting out the defunct Ankh-Morpork Post Office. This is rather topical at a time of Royal Mail strikes and complaints about post disappearing into a black hole of non- delivery or lost.
Along the way, Lipwig is allocated a parole officer/bodyguard, in the form of a Golem, Mr Pump (Mark Sutton) who has been underground for 240 years pumping dirty water. He appears as a giant, orange Flowerpot Man making sure Lipwig doesn’t escape. However, he isn’t allowed to harm humans, or is he? Read the small print.
There were some very topical jokes about the underperforming postal service, especially about pen pushers and tripping over rubbish on the pavement. There is even a transgender one. Mr Pump has his name changed to Gladys so that he can enter the women’s toilet. Lipwig meanwhile, begins to transition into Mr Good Guy inventing a stamp system.
Amongst the sacks of mail undelivered for over thirty years works a decrepit junior postman (Richard Pennicard) who is still waiting for promotion, and always follows regulations. He is accompanied by a young trainee postman (Maxwell Rose-Rogers) who for some reason has a thing about pins. Are you following the story so far?
A myriad of strange characters then appear in odd garbs, Richer Gilt (Martin Wilderspin-Lovell) is the leader of the board of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company. Dressed like Captain Hook with two hands, he struts and declaims and orders an assassin, dressed like Jack the Ripper, to murder our hero.
I take my hat off to Ian Gilbert, for his bravura performance. He dominates the stage, racing in and out, breaking the forth wall, and even doing a back flip somersault. There is also quite a few funny adlibs. He held the whole production together with his highly energised performance, ably supported by the rest of the cast. I would point out however, that some of the minor characters needed more vocal projection as they were very quiet.
The minimalist set is aided by the back projection for scene changes. There is also one interacting with the characters on the stage. The sound effect of whispering voices that were heard in Lipwig’s mind was also very effective.
All credit to the directors, Mark Preston and Lynne Foster, for making this very complicated play work. Although it was sometimes difficult to follow, especially by the likes of me, who hasn’t read any Pratchett. However, the audience are engrossed from start to finish. Meanwhile, I had lost the plot. It was like a surreal dream that is vastly entertaining, but you haven’t a clue what’s going on. However, Going Postal is a witty satire of the modern world with sinister undertones.
Review: Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The play continues on the 22nd and 26th – 29th April at 7.45 p.m.
Standard tickets are £12 Concessions* £10.00 (except Friday and Saturday) available online via our Ticket source page or by calling Ticket source on 0333 666 3366.
Please note that a fee of £2.00 is applied by Ticket source to all telephone bookings. There is a small fee (approx. 25p per ticket) for booking online.
Tickets are also available on the door at the Old Court Theatre from 45 minutes prior to the performance (cash and card payments accepted.)
*Concessions apply to under 18s and over 65s, unemployed and students with a valid student ID.
For queries regarding your booking, or to make exchanges, email the Booking Manager on: [email protected]