Review by Sue Leeman - Ilford Recorder
Ilford Recorder - 29 November 2007
Review by Sue Leeman
Allo, Allo - wartime wit still raises some laughs
The hackneyed jokes in 'Allo Allo' creak almost as much as the stairs leading from Rene's fabled cafe to the upstairs room where his mother-in-law lies moaning.
But the dated and xenophobic show somehow remains a perrenial favourite, as attested to by the full houses at the Kenneth More Theatre last week.
The laughter rang so loudly that I'm sure it carried halfway up the M11.
Directed by Bernie Paveley, this production by Woodford Operatic and Dramatic Society was efficient and workmanlike and had a good sense of comic timing.
Bernie avoided any urge to go at the piece full tilt and the result felt more subtle. a lower-key version stripped of the overdone cod-French accents and super-elaborate gestures of many a previous production. And that certainly worked for me.
Steve Liversedge was nicely engaging as the harassed Rene.
I loved his interaction with the fake cockatoo (containing a resitstance radio), the sausages - and his camp German admirer, Gruber, ably embodied by Jim Noon.
Marilyn Dennant, another KMT regular with terrific charisma, was wonderful as Edith. Her 'cabaret' act was hilarious in a beautifully observed performance full of wit.
Janice Mansfield and Pam Macdonald were saucy and coquettish as Rene's paramours Yvette and Mimi and Laura Wetherley did well as the messenger Michelle ('I shall say zis only waaans'), although it could have done with a touch more va-va-voom.
Malcolm Woodfild was hilarious as the colonel in his ludicrous wig - it almost assumed a life of its own - and Martyn Stewart was appropriately preening as the foppish Italian officier Alberto.
Gill Newlyn's lovestruck Helga worked well with Rob Mynott's myopic, overbearing Herr Flick and Glynn Norris managed to mangle the language as the spy Crabtree.
Foster Barnett was just right as the twinkly Leclerc.
There was a good set, courtesy of the talented Grant Alvarez and Mo Jones sourced the hilarious props, including the sausage purporting to contain 'The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies', about which we have all heard far too much.