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Scouts in Bondage at the King's Head Theatre |
Scouting for
Afghan trouble
SCOUTS IN BONDAGE
King's Head Theatre
THE originator of long-running crime drama Taggart, Glenn Chandler might seem an unlikely person to create a comedy like this – or indeed, to create any comedy.
But create it he has, and what entertaining viewing it makes, appealing to a peculiarly British sense of humour – all innuendos and stiff, er, upper lips, bringing a whole new meaning to the term “scout camp”.
It is the 1930s and Dick Greenways, Lance Featherstone, Donald Pretty and Henry Schmit – affiliates of the First Little Poddington Scout Troop, many of whom speak like caricatures of Boris Johnson (“what ho, oiks!”, “rotters”, “chaps” and “johnny foreigners”) are off on a ripping adventure.
They are bound for India, the Jewel of the British Empire, where they are to join fellow scouts in an imperial jamboree. But after things bugger up and they crash in Afghanistan, they find themselves “in bondage” to British secret service agents, engaged in a Great Game against Afghan tribesmen and Soviet spooks, and unwillingly couriering a dangerous package to a man called Yahoob.
There is an element of seriousness about this, and an obvious timeliness. The spirit of the 1930s is also well captured – but at bottom, so to speak, this is basically just fun, full of smut, political incorrectness, cartoon-style slapstick, Kenneth Williamsesque flared nostrils and opportunities for indulgent over-the-topness.
The actors savour this like a luxurious bath – as do they the scope for versatility this play affords, with three of the cast playing multiple roles.
During the interludes when Mark Farrelly, in the role of the editor of Scout Magazine, treads the boards, speaking in ruminative tones of the humiliations of his job, this seems more like stand-up than theatre in the strict sense; he whips the audience into wild laughter and steals the show.
Not that there isn’t ample competition.
The comic acting and all-important sense of timing is, across the board, perfectly tuned, and the attention to detail in the set and even in the programme, which is illustrated in the style of a Billy Bunter comic, is commendable. This is fringe comedy as it should be – raucous, raw and rude. As one of the characters in this play might put it: “Keep it up, Chandler old bean!”
Until January 10
0844 209 0326 |
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