Keith Waterhouse, creator of the compulsive liar Billy Fisher, described his character as “an amalgamation of all my mates at the time”.
The implication is they could all identify with his difficulty in delivering the truth and his need to fantasise in order to cope with the grim reality of narrow conformism and oppressive parents, who expect him to be continually grateful for winning a grammar school place.
But if the concept lays the ground for universal relevance, biting social satire and tense comedy, under Michael Lunney’s staid direction, we remain trapped in the lovingly-recreated, but too literal setting of a northern, late fifties household, where 21 is the age of consent and the strongest language is “fizzing hell”.
Only in the final act and after two intervals, are we touched by the pathos of Billy’s parents, abandoned by the older and younger generation alike, and very naturally played by Helen Fraser as Alice Fisher and Dicken Ashworth as Geoffrey Fisher.
Chris Hannon as their mendacious son Billy brings the required innocence to the part, but does not manage enough slippery charm to convince us he could keep three women interested at once or that there is any fascinating intelligence behind the lies.
His girls are all extremely different. Lauren Drummond captures the mannerisms of the buttoned-up, orange-eating Barbara. Victoria Hawkins is an overly vulgar Rita and Holly Quin-Ankrah is refreshingly straightforward as the love of his life Liz to whom he almost manages to be true.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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