The Stage

Steptoe & Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane

Published Friday 28 October 2005 at 16:55 by Dave Windass

The much-loved sitcom classic created by the legendary Galton and Simpson has been brought back to life at the Royal.

With Alan Simpson in retirement, Galton has teamed up with occasional writing partner John Antrobus and the pair have revived the show in fine style.

This new installment, set in the present day with the Steptoe house and yard in the hands of the National Trust as an example of trotters’ heritage, echoes the spirit of the television days.

The main double act of Jake Nightingale and Harry Dickman have an unenviable task on their hands. People will come to this show expecting to see them climb the comedic heights scaled by Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell. Miraculously, they do achieve this, capturing every nuance, tick, gesture and “you dirty old man” of the original pairing. But Nightingale and Dickman are more than just a pair of impersonators - they are both very fine comic actors, supported by an adept trio.

The work itself, which could have simply been a lame homage to bygone days, also stands up. Galton, keen to lay this particular ghost to rest, gives us a final episode, one in which Harold has killed his father. Returning to the old house after tiring of life on the run, he is faced with the ghostly apparition of his old dad. Told in flashback, we find out why Harold eventually lost the plot. To reveal any more than that would spoil the fun to be had watching this well-crafted work unfold.

Design-wise, Nigel Hook has recreated the disgustingly cluttered house - complete with medical skeleton and giant bear, while composer Christopher Madin twists Ron Grainer’s original television theme music.

The playwrights tie up several strands of loose ends in the fast-paced second act. Unavoidably, director Roger Smith, Galton and Antrobus and Nightingale and Dickman have one eye on the past throughout - this feels very much like a very good night in front of the box.