'Allo 'Allo tres bien for the Watlington Players

Comparison is the thief of joy and it would be hard for 'Allo 'Allo fans not to compare this production to the original.

Iconic characters and well known lines created by the writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft were expertly made famous by Gordon Kaye, who played central figure Rene along with the TV cast.

The Watlington Players did the original justice with costumes and set taking the audience back to war time France, occupied by the Germans, and the farcical endeavours and plot twists at Cafe Rene.

The opening music played on the piano and recorded by West End musical director Nigel Lilley created a beautiful introduction.

Steve Brooks, who played Rene, had a lot on his plate to keep the pace going with the ever building confusion and silliness that themes the plot lines.

At times the pace slowed and could have had more energy from the central character but as Rene he had the audience on his side on his first entrance.

There were some clever theatrical techniques uses such as freeze frames, for the plot to be clarified between Rene and the audience.

The cast did really well as an ensemble and considering this was the last night of only three performances it's a shame they couldn't do a longer run and really get it tight as a production.

Give them their dues though, they did not overrun and it was a fun two hours to be part of. Occasionally there were a couple of lines lost and a little confusion in a scene but cast members did well to recover it by working together.

That's the beauty of live theatre and performance, it can be unpredictable.

Some stand-out performances were from Beccy Pooley, Sarah Melia and Megan Abbott who portrayed Edith, Yvette and Mimi respectively.

Particularly in their cabaret scene, they showed their dancing skills and Beccy singing slightly out of tune made the audience laugh and gave the trio great applause.

Amy Power and David Brammer made an effecitive pairing as Helga and Herr Flick with some great bits of business, using facial expressions and comedy timing.

The stand out performance for me was Lee Johnson, playing Crabtree, delivering his hilarious muddled lines in Franglais.

Other great moments came from the comic timing of Phil Melia, as Lt Gruber and Dale Hornsby, as Capt Berorelli, who both kept the laughs coming.

Hugh Pearce as LeClerc also stood out with good comedy timing both vocally and physically.

My only disappointment was not winning anything on the raffle, audience members were warned they would be shot if they didn't buy a ticket so I quickly procured a strip.

Judging on the size of the box of snacks won by a lucky audience member, a painting of the fallen Madonna with the big boobies could easily have been concealed in it.

Director Jen Ives not only directed but played the part of Michelle.

After the show and the final curtain she said: "It's our aim to be as professional as possible. We have had so many cast changes due to Covid-19. It's a huge commitment."

Feedback from the audience afterwards was positive and one said: "It was well acted out and well produced. Keeping the actors as true to the originals was a good idea and it was all well organised."

Certainly the front of house staff, backstage crew and those serving the bar who were also in costume wearing berets, were all very professional in their roles.

It was good to see the three nights successfully sold out with a lower capacity size than usual, as the style of seating was cabaret.

Many local people had ventured out so it was encouraging that the Players are being supported and the production ended with a nice touch with the cast unrolling a banner saying "You have been watching", as a nod to the TV show we all knew.

Next year's productions will be Rapunzel the Panto, January 6-8 and Shrek the Musical, June 2-4.

Jenny Beake