| Good music, but where's the play? |
Blonde Bombshells of 1943 |
| Touring company , Venue Cymru, Llandudno , March 12, 2008 |
This started life as a TV movie called The Last of the Blonde Bombshells when it featured the re-union in old age of a wartime all-female dance band. The West Yorkshire Playhouse thought it would make a good stage play and commissioned an adaptation. Later still the Bolton Octagon and Hampstead Theatre commissioned yet another version, which is the one used for this touring production.Losing the re-union structure, it’s now become an ensemble piece about the day in 1943 when the band needed to recruit four new members for a broadcast performance that evening. But somewhere along the line the play has vanished. Now we have a series of short scenes in which quirky, one-dimensional characters, high-class tottie, feisty nun, draft-dodging male, innocent schoolgirl, hard as nails band leader, show their musical stuff before lining up for the climactic broadcast. Which is not to say that it’s bad. It’s sparkily performed by the talented company. Being by Alan Plater, there’s some lovely North Country humour and sharp one-liners. Many have venerable whiskers on them but they still, by and large, get a laugh. Within the considerable limitations of their characters the cast do manage to create credible personalities. They also know how to time a wisecrack; it’s a shame that some of the laughs are lost through the miking, which often flattens out the dialogue. What they certainly can do is play up a storm and the final concert is a real toe-tapping, joyous re-creation of a believable 1940s wireless show. It’s not believable that a few hours’ rehearsing in an army lorry on the journey to Hull would produce a band of this quality but who cares, it’s great to hear the material belted out with such freshness and verve. A lady behind me on the way out wanted less words and more music. I wanted more of a character driven play, the amount of music seemed just right. I do think it would have worked better in a more intimate space but I really don’t want to be too negative. It was fun, it was nicely acted and very well played, it looked good and it conveyed the period feeling with great conviction. |
Reviewed by: Victor Hallett |
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