Plenty of laughs at All and Sundry's 'Allo 'Allo

ALL AND SUNDRY'S production of 'Allo 'Allo offered plenty of laughs at Birmingham's Crescent Theatre.

It is always difficult reproducing scenes from what was a long-running and successful TV show, but the group rose to the challenge.

The start of the play was pretty fast-paced, with Mark Clayton as Rene, Gail McGhie as Edith, Lorna Treen as Yvette and Errenn Ball as Mimi setting the scene perfectly.

After that, a strong cast built up the plot and a clever set enabled the actors to move, almost seamlessly, between the cafe, outside the cafe and to the Germans' HQ.

Notable highlights of the first half included Mike Jeffrey, as hapless gendarme Officer Crabtree, with his classic take on making the English language French.

As the interval approached, the pace of the show did slow somewhat, but there was a good hook for those who went along to wonder what was going to happen in the second half.

It immediately picked up after the break with plenty of traditional British comedy and innuendo and that was when the performance really came into its own.

Victoria Vollans excelled as Helga, as did Andrew Corcoran as Captain Bertorelli and Chris Hall as Herr Flick.

The actors, in the second half, really got into their characters and the farcical elements of the script brought about a fantastic feel-good finale that left the audience feeling fulfilled.

Vive la France - and Vive All and Sundry!

Further performances of 'Allo 'Allo take place tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) at 7.30pm. There is also a Saturday matinee tomorrow at 2.30pm.

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