CHRISTOPHER SMITH Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
CHRISTOPHER SMITH
Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
It's all hilarity at Hilary Hall when the men from the ministry seize the opportunity to make post-war confusion worse by billeting girls in a seedy boys' school.
The action is set in the staff common room, where masters mix with mistresses. Innuendo is the trademark of John Dighton's farce.
The plot leads to scenes that embarrass the individuals concerned, to the delight of the audience, while puns are played with ruthless determination and ticklish moments created with manic inventiveness, yet somehow there remains a touch of old- world innocence.
Oonagh Segrave-Daly wields the headmistress's battleaxe with sublime self- possession; Tim Seely reveals the headmaster's feet of clay as his poshness deserts him in successive crises.
Jo Sessions, who embodies jolly hockey sticks from her ankle socks upwards, is contrasted with two
teachers (Richard Mann and Robert Morris), who alternately see and flee the main chance.
The colourful comic picture is completed by Ken Lay's Rainbow, a caretaker who grumbles and mumbles as he rambles and shambles through the chaos.
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