This nostalgic revival of the eighties sitcom could have been a real white elephant on the touring circuit but thanks to the solid base created by original writers Perry and Croft and a superb adaptation by Carpenter and Gower, this holiday camp romp is a real treat.
With such strong and memorable original characterisations a revival could only work if the characters were conscientiously recreated and the excellent cast in this production portray the well known faces of Maplins religiously.
This was particularly impressive at the Haymarket where Kate Burrell and Dieter Thomas stood in for the two regular actors, who were delayed abroad due to flight restrictions, to play the main roles of Gladys Pugh and Jeffrey Fairbrother. Damian Williams is the lovable comic camp host Ted Bovis and his protégé Spike Dixon is played for visual laughs by Ben Roddy.
Abigail Finley is a delightfully desperate wannabe Yellow Coat as chalet maid Peggy Ollerenshaw, with Richard Colson as Punch and Judy man William Partridge and Andrew Fettes as jockey Fred Quilley.
Barry Howard and Nikki Kelly are the camp dance professionals, with Lauren Harrison, Carrie Laurence and Helen Bennett as the Yellow Coats at his particular performance.
There are some strong vocalists within the cast who lift the songs beyond the expected standard and, whilst the show will only appeal to an audience of a certain age, most are sure to leave with a nostalgic smile on their face.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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