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| Pic: Catherine Ashmore |
When Hitler started dropping bombs on London during World War II, the BBC decided that the best way it could keep up the nation's spirits was to relocate its Variety department to a much safer location.
And so it came to pass that light entertainment radio programmes such as It's That Man Again (ITMA) were moved to North Wales, in particular Bangor, for live broadcast across the United Kingdom. After all, Hitler would never think to attack little old Maesgeirchen, would he?
Mike James's Somewhere in England tells the story of what life was like for the BBC's actors while seconded to Bangor during the Blitz, and how they coped with life in Wales when all they were used to was the fuggy metropolis of London. And perhaps more amusingly, how the Welsh communities coped with having several English uppercrusters parachuted into their otherwise idyllic lives.
Somewhere in England (so named because, despite broadcasting from Bangor, the BBC maintained the illusion they were actually in England to befuddle the Nazis) is part drama, part comedy and part musical, with more emphasis on the musical than many might expect. While there is a plot, it is lightly drawn and acts more as a linking thread for the various musical vignettes and comedic turns performed by the cast for ITMA.
There's a blossoming romance which hits turmoil along the way, and some very amusing comedy which plays on the most fundamental differences between the Welsh and English cultures (I think the use of English subtitles during the Welsh dialogue actually makes it funnier for non-Welsh speakers). Take, for instance, the Welsh publican who rants against the English "invaders", but is more than happy to take money from their pockets, or the BBC actors who try in vain to pronounce Dewi's name accurately (inevitably, it ends up being "dewey" throughout).
I must mention the fantastic turn from Richard Elfyn in his all too few scenes as the Reverend Cefni Pugh, a Welsh clergyman with the outlook of Mary Whitehouse but the appearance of Dave Allen. Elfyn is hilarious and almost steals the show from under the feet of the ghosts of Askey and Handley. No, scratch that - he does steal the show!
Among the laughs and romance, though, there is a beautifully written and performed plot strand involving a Welsh matriarch and her devotion to ITMA star Arthur Askey. Sara Harris-Davies and Paul Barnhill are stunning in the gently played scenes where Askey pays a visit to Mam's cottage, as a favour to her son Dewi, who works at the BBC as a sound effects engineer. These scenes are touching and real and provide a valuable heart for what is otherwise a quite disjointed production.
I say disjointed because just as you're getting into a scene, it might be interrupted by a rendition of Run, Rabbit, Run or one of Tommy Handley's frenetic comedy routines, which more often than not have little direct connection to the plot. I found it distracting, as if the director didn't know whether this was a play or a variety routine or both, or neither in particular. I'm sure the older members of the audience - of which there were many - enjoyed the 1940s music and jokes more than I did, but without the benefit of wartime nostalgia, I found the production’s uneven style unengaging.
What I would have preferred is a straight play about the BBC's sojourn to Wales in 1940, how this affected the Welsh community and the English visitors. There is one moment in Somewhere in England when a bomb explodes on Maesgeirchen (Hitler found it in the end) and the theatre rocks with the noise. It's a real, affecting dramatic moment which brings the play to a standstill and changes the direction and outlook of every character. Bombs really were dropped on Bangor during the war, and Llandudno and Holyhead. Because Ireland was neutral, it left all its lights on at night and the Luftwaffe was able to use this as navigation, simply turning right at Dublin to locate the North Wales coast on their way to give Liverpool a hammering. Occasionally, they'd offload over Wales on the way, and I think there is a much better story to be told in that.
But there's no gain to be had in reviewing what something isn't, and I happily suspect I'm in the minority, because everybody seemed to be lapping up the wartime atmosphere of the play, the servings of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, and the faithful recreations of ITMA routines - people around me may have guffawed at NKABTYSITRWU*, but it sadly left me cold.
If you like wartime comedy, Forties costumes and Welsh humour, this is for you. And if you particularly like Arthur Askey and Tommy Handley, then Paul Barnhill and Philip Bretherton are well worth the price of admission alone.
*Never Kiss A Baby Till You're Sure It's The Right Way Up
And so it came to pass that light entertainment radio programmes such as It's That Man Again (ITMA) were moved to North Wales, in particular Bangor, for live broadcast across the United Kingdom. After all, Hitler would never think to attack little old Maesgeirchen, would he?
Mike James's Somewhere in England tells the story of what life was like for the BBC's actors while seconded to Bangor during the Blitz, and how they coped with life in Wales when all they were used to was the fuggy metropolis of London. And perhaps more amusingly, how the Welsh communities coped with having several English uppercrusters parachuted into their otherwise idyllic lives.
Somewhere in England (so named because, despite broadcasting from Bangor, the BBC maintained the illusion they were actually in England to befuddle the Nazis) is part drama, part comedy and part musical, with more emphasis on the musical than many might expect. While there is a plot, it is lightly drawn and acts more as a linking thread for the various musical vignettes and comedic turns performed by the cast for ITMA.
There's a blossoming romance which hits turmoil along the way, and some very amusing comedy which plays on the most fundamental differences between the Welsh and English cultures (I think the use of English subtitles during the Welsh dialogue actually makes it funnier for non-Welsh speakers). Take, for instance, the Welsh publican who rants against the English "invaders", but is more than happy to take money from their pockets, or the BBC actors who try in vain to pronounce Dewi's name accurately (inevitably, it ends up being "dewey" throughout).
I must mention the fantastic turn from Richard Elfyn in his all too few scenes as the Reverend Cefni Pugh, a Welsh clergyman with the outlook of Mary Whitehouse but the appearance of Dave Allen. Elfyn is hilarious and almost steals the show from under the feet of the ghosts of Askey and Handley. No, scratch that - he does steal the show!
Among the laughs and romance, though, there is a beautifully written and performed plot strand involving a Welsh matriarch and her devotion to ITMA star Arthur Askey. Sara Harris-Davies and Paul Barnhill are stunning in the gently played scenes where Askey pays a visit to Mam's cottage, as a favour to her son Dewi, who works at the BBC as a sound effects engineer. These scenes are touching and real and provide a valuable heart for what is otherwise a quite disjointed production.
I say disjointed because just as you're getting into a scene, it might be interrupted by a rendition of Run, Rabbit, Run or one of Tommy Handley's frenetic comedy routines, which more often than not have little direct connection to the plot. I found it distracting, as if the director didn't know whether this was a play or a variety routine or both, or neither in particular. I'm sure the older members of the audience - of which there were many - enjoyed the 1940s music and jokes more than I did, but without the benefit of wartime nostalgia, I found the production’s uneven style unengaging.
What I would have preferred is a straight play about the BBC's sojourn to Wales in 1940, how this affected the Welsh community and the English visitors. There is one moment in Somewhere in England when a bomb explodes on Maesgeirchen (Hitler found it in the end) and the theatre rocks with the noise. It's a real, affecting dramatic moment which brings the play to a standstill and changes the direction and outlook of every character. Bombs really were dropped on Bangor during the war, and Llandudno and Holyhead. Because Ireland was neutral, it left all its lights on at night and the Luftwaffe was able to use this as navigation, simply turning right at Dublin to locate the North Wales coast on their way to give Liverpool a hammering. Occasionally, they'd offload over Wales on the way, and I think there is a much better story to be told in that.
But there's no gain to be had in reviewing what something isn't, and I happily suspect I'm in the minority, because everybody seemed to be lapping up the wartime atmosphere of the play, the servings of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, and the faithful recreations of ITMA routines - people around me may have guffawed at NKABTYSITRWU*, but it sadly left me cold.
If you like wartime comedy, Forties costumes and Welsh humour, this is for you. And if you particularly like Arthur Askey and Tommy Handley, then Paul Barnhill and Philip Bretherton are well worth the price of admission alone.
*Never Kiss A Baby Till You're Sure It's The Right Way Up
The stats
Writer: Mike James, from an idea by John Biggins
Director: Peter Rowe
Cast: Paul Barnhill (Arthur Askey); Tom Blumberg (Dewi Price); Philip Bretherton (Tommy Handley); Shirley Darroch (Molly/ Kay Cavendish); Richard Elfyn (Dino Galvani/ Gareth/ Reverend Cefni Pugh); Phylip Harries (Mostyn); Sara Harris-Davies (Mam/ Dorothy Summers/ Elsie Chamberlain); Catherine Lamb (Sarah); Kit Orton (Sydney Keith/ Twp/ Frank Worsley); Alex Parry (Idris Price/ Jack Train); Kraig Thornber (Horace Percival); Georgina White (Carol Morrison)
Performed at Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, October 16 to November 8, 2014. Performance reviewed: October 21, 2014.
Links
Somewhere in England on Clwyd Theatr Cymru website (retrieved Jan 10, 2015)
Mike James's website (retrieved Jan 10, 2015)
Promotional video (retrieved Jan 10, 2015)
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