Move Over, Mrs Markham
By Ray Cooney & John Chapman
Directed by Robin Hirsch
Southport Little Theatre, until Saturday, September 29.
If the word of mouth which made a hit of Dad's Army repeats itself, Southport Dramatic Club has another sell-out on its hands.
Move Over, Mrs Markham is a bedroom farce which has the honour of ushering Southport Little Theatre into its eighth decade.
Robin Hirsch has taken Ray Cooney and John Chapman's 1969 text and woven it into a taut, tightly choreographed production worthy of Drury Lane.
One thing which continues to impress about SDC productions is the level of professionalism from every aspect of a crew which fit their passion for the dramatic around full-time jobs and busy personal lives.
With that in mind, Peter Forshaw should give himself a large pat (or maybe even a goose) on the back after picking up the wordy, demanding role of Philip Markham and running with it.
The part looked an exhausting one to play. As well as handling a major share of the lines as the over-worked and under-amorous children's book publisher, he had a busy night of intricately timed pratfalls, reactions, and the well-honed exits and entrances which farces live or die by.
A story of misunderstandings and mistaken identity revolving around various couples wanting to take advantage of the Markham's empty flat for the evening, it's a long time since such raucous giggles have bounced around the Little auditorium.
Emma Hitchcock was nicely understated as Joanna Markham, the woman whose cool under pressure produces implausible solutions to stop the infidelity-packed evening descending into a fistfight - or the loss of a vital contract from prudish author Olive Harriet Smythe (Irene Trim).
Simon Armstrong was suitably bullish as middle class lothario Henry Lodge, the man whose extra-marital dalliances sets the whole chain of events in motion when wife Linda (Helen Pritchard) decides it is time to enjoy a bit of slap and tickle on the side as well.
Will Cain was also good as interior designer Alistair Spenlow, the campest heterosexual since Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen, who has one eye on the Markham's au pair Sylvie (Holly Donoghue) and is also the catalyst for the pre-interval plot twist.
With much to-ing and fro-ing between an elevator, a study, a kitchen, a bedroom and its en suite bathroom, Syd Coley has excelled with the set design, reproducing a contemporary London apartment with all mod cons on what must be a modest budget.
Robin Hirsch seems to have employed military precision to squeeze the maximum comedy potential from the script and the synergy from the ensemble, particularly during the all-in-the-mix climax clicked superbly.
When laugh-out-loud comedy of this calibre is on your doorstep, it would be foolish to ignore it.
And just wait until you learn how to goose somebody. You'll never look back.
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