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New life in old legs You're Only Young Twice Wolverhampton Grand *** IN RECENT years Ian Dickens Productions
seem to have found considerable success in filling the British theatre
with the type of plays that seem squarely and comfortably aimed at an
older audience. Billed as a `hilarious' star comedy You're Only Young Twice is not only aimed at the older generation but it is about them. Written by Ron Aldridge it gathers together a sprightly set of widowers' just days before one of the couple's wedding. Brooksie played by Melvyn Hayes is the thrill
seeking pensioner who much to the disgust of his friends and
family has found a new lease of energy following the loss of his
beloved wife Grace. The idea has the scope for all sorts of crazy
goings on but mostly the action is with everyone seated and just has
them all reminiscing the good old days. Brooksie, rather than offering
any newer or deeper perspective on his condition, spends most of his
time just poking fun at everyone. It's a pleasant sit-com style atmosphere but the
writing is flat and predictable throughout mentioning some very tired
subjects. There is the trouble with teenagers dressing in short skirts
and makeup and that's just the boys, public transport and the lack of it
and they don't make films like they used to for instance Gone with the
Wind? Considering the play was written in 2001 and the
events of that year and with the start of a new millennium, one would
have thought that there might have been far more interesting subjects to
have them all to comically gripe on about, other than the state of
teenage dress sense and the buses.
Despite that though Melvyn Hayes does a wonderful
job at bringing his experience and comic timing to the production. At 77
he looked as fresh as ever undertaking some quite physical moments in
the play with ease. Dramatically the turning point came with the
introduction of the spirit of his deceased wife Grace (Ingrid Evans) who
enters the scene mostly while Brooksie is alone and the interplay
between the two of them was skilful and touching. The ghostly conversation between them left us at
the end of the first act with the possibility that Brooksie was going to
reveal his true nature to his friends. Unfortunately that never came as
the second half was mostly a long drawn out explanation of the stag do
and the boozy happenings of the night before. There is only so long you
can take at watching someone try to remember the facts while suffering
from a hangover and again it was only Hayes' ability at physical comedy
that lifted the closing scene. Katy Manning, the once sexy assistant to Jon
Pertwee's Doctor Who, played Rose, Brooksie's possible new suitor. Her
sharp delivery and feisty performance rescued many parts of the play
that otherwise would have just seen us sitting in on some pleasant chat. You're Only Young Twice is hardly the Bucket
List of a second life opportunity that it sets out to tell us all
about, but it is worth going along to see how a very skilled cast can
turn some pleasant but flimsy writing into solid entertainment.
Jeff Grant
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