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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Fast, funny and right on the money
Cast and crew for Funny Money Funny Money Swan Theatre Amateur Company Swan Theatre, Worcester **** THE first problem with farce is that it
looks simple, a few laughs and rushing about and Bob's your uncle, or in
this case probably another Australian brother-in-law heading to Heathrow
for a flight home. The second problem with farce is that to make it
look simple it needs impeccable timing and a well-paced rhythm, a bit
like a swan gliding serenely by with the unseen feet going like the
clappers underneath. On the whole the hard working cast managed it and
although it ran out of steam a little in the middle of the second act
and there were a few fumbled lines the boiler was soon stoked up again
to build up to the clever final twist. To explain the plot would need flow charts and
several appendices so suffice to say that Henry Perkins is a mild
mannered accountant who comes into a small fortune by accident and when
you find a fortune the chances are someone has lost it, in this case Mr
Nasty. That problem is solved when Mr Nasty is found with two new
ventilation holes in his head, thanks to a mysterious and very foreign
Mr Big who then takes on the duties of getting the missing money back. Enter a bent copper, charges of soliciting in the
gents of the local boozer, a straight copper investigating the death of
Mr Nasty, who he thinks is Henry, two friends who double up as brothers,
sisters, in-laws and anyone else, wife swapping and a taxi driver who
finds his intended passengers and destinations change by the minute –
and finds his taxi in two accidents without going anywhere; in short
it's a typical Ray Cooney farce. The art of farce is to take a credible(ish) situation, then add an innocent twist that needs a tiny lie to hide or justify what is really going on.
Little lies are like Topsy though so it needs a
bigger lie to cover the tiny lie. That soon needs an even bigger lie
until we are in the realm of great big whoppers with more balls in the
air than a jugglers' convention as everything spirals out of control. Alan Woollaston does a fine job as Henry, the
orchestrator of half-baked explanations to the local constabulary while
Sue Hawkins as wife Jean quietly, well not that quiet really, works her
way through the brandy bottle. Janet Bright adds some sexy allure to Betty,
arriving for dinner to celebrate Henry's birthday, who finds wife
swapping an attractive proposition, especially if there is £735,000 –
cash – to go with it while Andrew Whittle gives us the resigned air of a
man overtaken then overwhelmed by circumstance as Betty's long suffering
husband Vic. Then there is the law, On one side of it is Det
Sgt Davenport, played with roguish charm by Chris Kingsley, who is bent
as a nine bob note and always willing to accept donations for his
favourite charity – DS Davenport. On the more “Evenin' all” side is DS Slater, a
sort of old school Insp Wexford type, played with solid dependability by
Jim Austin, who arrives to give the tragic news to Jean about the poor
late Henry only to find he has entered bedlam. Popping in and out we have Ben . . . sorry Bill,
played by Oliver Goldfinch, who has the cantankerous London cabbie off
to a tee. Bill, who is waiting to take Henry to Heathrow to avoid Mr
Big, has a couple of great lines but his best, and perhaps the best in
the play comes after Henry appears to have had his windfall snatched
from him and is bemoaning his lost plans for “Barcelona, Bali, wife
swapping . . .” Bill inquires innocently: “Is that through Thomas
Cook?”. The mysterious Mr Big, played by John Kershaw,
finally makes an appearance, looking, and sounding, a bit like an extra
from a Siberian production of The Merchant of Venice, and there are some
nice special effects as the Perkins' home gets shot up before Mr Big
becomes Mr Flat and sat upon as he is arrested. As with all farces it all comes right, well sort
of right, in the end, with a nice twist to tie up all the loose ends . .
. apart from one. Andy Hares has produced a good set with plenty of
doors and a stairway - a pre-requisite of farce - while director Sue
Smith managed to keep up a cracking pace, and avoid confusing the
audience, another key element. We have to know exactly what is going on
so we . . . know exactly what is going on if you see what I mean. There were a couple of fluffed lines and
entrances but this is a much more complex play than it appears and the
cast did a splendid job in keeping everything rattling along. They were
funny, kept the audience laughing and entertained and what more can you
ask for in farce. As for the loose, loose end . . . what is going to
happen to the cat that Ben, I mean Bill, was going to look after? To
18-05-13. Roger Clarke |
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