One of the most successful farces that has appeared in London. It deals with a crazy, but very likeable gang of bookies who, in order to be near the racecourse, are staying at a country hotel run by a retired colonel and his wife and daughter. Secret rooms, sliding panels, mistaken identity and a nice little bit of romance are some of the main ingredients of this very racy and slick farce, which never lets up for a moment and provides some of the best possible entertainment around.
What an excellent choice this play is for the weeks before Christmas. It's pure fun, not a serious idea to be found, just the sort of entertainment we want in the lead up to the festive season.
I felt quite exhausted just watching the sheer energy expended by the excellent cast as they run jump, fall and leap from crisis to crisis. The setting is a country hotel, where the new owners, an apoplectic retired colonel (Haydn Vincent) and his patient wife (Carol Hoffman) and daughter (Jacinta Antonelli) struggle to cope with their half-witted maid (Peppa Sindar) and a very suspicious group of guests.
The hotel is near a racecourse where double-dealing bookmaker Alfred Tubbe (Fred Fargher) and his co-conspirator Flash Harry (John Daykin) are conspiring to rig a race. Tubbe's 'valet' Fred Phipps (Brad Mitchell) is the patsy for their scheme which of course goes totally astray. Add to this mixture a jockey who speaks only French (Julian Oldfield) a starry-eyed young secretary (Dale Jackson) who falls for the daughter and a police sergeant (Lorenne Whitecross) who seems to have strayed from the Keystone cops and you can be guaranteed plenty of laughs.
Julian Oldfield's direction and design are as always highly professional. The cast is consistently strong and the pace is maintained throughout I hesitate to single out particular actors as all are worthy of comment but the trio of villains certainly deserves a special mention The action is fast and furious, and it is clear that everyone involved is having as much fun as the audience. Enjoy it!
