The Stage

On the Piste

Published Tuesday 8 September 2009 at 09:55 by Andrew Liddle

This revival of John Godber’s comedy hit of 1990 is not the Carry On Up the Alps that the title might suggest. Although there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, Kevin Shaw’s insightful direction brings out darker elements in the rather tepid plot about the English abroad.

Two couples, on holiday trying to get their relationships back together, discover that up here in the Austrian mountains - beautifully evoked in Richard Foxton’s picture postcard set - there’s no escape from each other’s annoying foibles. Indeed, there is something about the combination of thin air and strong lager that makes them give vent disastrously to their real feelings.

Stuart Ward perfectly captures the nervy, nerdy, accident-prone Chris, the first to crack under the strain. Kate Coogan excels too as his forbearing partner Alison. They certainly take themselves seriously, which cannot be said about the pair of immature fantasists, Dave and Bev, played for laughs by rubber-faced Richard Oldham and the irrepressible Catherine Kinsella.

Adrian Bouchet is on top form as the local ski instructor, Tony, stealing every scene, especially the hugely amusing one in the sauna where he reveals his Mr Universe dimensions. Unlike the hapless Dave, he’s far too savvy to let the hoity-toity Melissa, whose femme fatale qualities are nicely captured by Loveday Smith, throw him off his tracks.

All in all, the piste turns out to be an irresistible metaphor for the human condition modern style - glittering, hard-edged and thrills and spills downhill all the way.