CityLife

See How They Run

 

LOOKING for an alternative entertainment to the Christmas pantomime?

 

Well I can certainly recommend Philip King's rip-roaring, wartime farce of vicars, frocked and unfrocked, who appear in the village of Merton-cum-Middlewick during the Second World War.

 

It all starts innocently enough with the approaching visit of the Bishop of Lax, played by Arthur Bostrom, whom you may recognise as the bumbling gendarme, Officer 'Good Moaning' Crabtree from 'Allo!, 'Allo!, He gets an obvious laugh with a remark about not repeating himself.

The Bishop is visiting the local vicar, the Reverend Lionel Toop, beautifully realised by Nick Caldecott, who's married his niece Penelope, superbly played by Laura Rogers.

Scene-stealer

But when Clive, Chris Harper, her old acting partner appears and they re-enact a scene from Private Lives, there are hysterical consequences.

Alexandra Mathie is terrific as Miss Skillon, the church harridan while Manchester Evening News Award-winner Kate O'Flynn proves a real scene-stealer as Ida the bumbling maid.

Manchester actor Hugh Sachs is amusing as the taken-aback visiting preacher and it's good to see popular John Bramwell back again.

Very funny fights

This is the second time the Exchange has presented this farce, which is full of surprise entrances and exits as well as silly chase scenes and very funny fights.

This time it's directed, at a spanking pace, by Sarah Frankcom who's won critical acclaim for her previous productions at this theatre.

Directing farce in the round poses its own problems which Frankcom cleverly surmounts with the help of Paul Wills' clever design of a vicarage.

I normally don't like farce but I enjoyed every minute of this hilarious comedy of mistaken identity and, judging by the cheers, so did the rest of the audience.

The perfect antidote to the credit crunch blues.

 

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