‘ALLO!..’ALLO!

Presented by - The Nonentities (A)

Location - Main House

Standard Ticket Prices

Curtain Up 7.30pm

The play that so many of our patrons have asked for …and most people will certainly have heard of ‘Allo ‘Allo from the amazingly successful television series. The adventures of Rene the café owner continue in war torn France as he and his wife try to keep a priceless portrait stolen by the Nazis. A visit to the town by Hitler is planned and Rene will need all the help he can muster to save both his café and his life. The resistance, the Gestapo, the German army and a host of rapacious maids are all dragged in to help.

Director's Note

After nearly 8 years away from The Rose, I have to say that ‘Allo ‘Allo was not the subject matter I had anticipated for my return to the Director’s Chair! Having previously been let loose on Shakespeare, Pinter and a range of contemporary playwrights, an adaptation of a much-loved sitcom (which came to air more than a quarter of a century ago now) could have seemed like an easy re-introduction. But, having been involved with similar productions in the past, I knew well this was far from the truth! Comedy, as they say, is a serious business.

In many ways the wartime subject matter hardly seems a fitting one for comedy. But David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd set out to not to make fun of the war but to spoof war-based films and TV dramas such as Secret Army – René Artois may even have a distant cousin in the figure Rick in Casablanca! In this way, we are given licence to laugh at the situation and find the comedy coming naturally from the traditional stereotyped characters and the farcical situation in which they find themselves. There is a happy coincidence that ‘Allo ‘Allo appears as our Christmas show: this is perhaps the nearest thing to a pantomime we have had at The Rose for years.

Just as our favourite pantomime stories change with each re-telling, you will see very quickly that we have not tried to provide you with a carbon-copy of the television programme. We have, of course, stayed faithful to the spirit of the show but tried to present our own version allowing the cast to look for the comedy first in the script, without insisting on slavishly mimicking their TV predecessors. A huge debt of gratitude is owed to both experienced and more recently arrived members for working so hard during our seven weeks’ rehearsal.

My thanks, also, to the backstage crew who have also risen magnificently to their unique challenges– it is not every show at The Rose that demands such specific props, stage management, costume or sound. It takes quite some ingenuity for the props team to come up with inflatable führers, radio controlled parrots, self-elevating sausages and forged renaissance masterpieces in the style of Van Klomp! There are equal challenges set for other members of the technical crew.

We hope you enjoy your trip to Nouvien. If you have, we would encourage you to give generously to the local and national charities members of the cast have nominated, both at our special extra charity performance and throughout the rest of the run.

Ross Workman