At Frapetsus |
| Frapetsus- Bred in Heaven , Swansea Grandf Theatre , September 14, 2011 |
If you loved the iconic TV film of the 70's 'Grand Slam' you will love this play. Frapetsus Theatre Company present Bred In Heaven a two hour romp filled with laughs, double meanings and camp humour.The majority of the campness is provided by Sion Probert as Maldwyn Novello Pughe - the only original member of the Grand Slam cast making an appearance. From the moment we first see Maldwyn you could feel the affection rising from the audience. Probert bumbled his way through a few of the scenes but as the audience had taken him to their hearts from the kick off there was nothing he could do wrong. In this production - directed by Olivier winning director Michael Bogdanov - Maldwyn and his friends are taken to the other side of the world to New Zealand to watch Wales win the Rugby World Cup. He is joined on this 'tour' by Ieuan Rhys (Bryn Thomas), and Russell Gomer and Di Botcher (Mike and Beryl Davies). The comic timing of both Rhys and Gomer is a delight to watch - add on top of that the stern dry battle-axe wit of Botcher and you have a comedic winning team. There are so many funny one liners in this play that they should be remembered as fondly as Maldwyn's "I'm here,I'm there I'm everywhere" line. There were a few quite predictable gags but in all honesty it didn't matter. The audience did not stop laughing from start to finish. A lady sat next to me was literally crying with laughter. Credit to the young writer Jack Llywelyn - who also plays Dylan in the production. To take on a 'follow-up' to 'Grand Slam' is not an easy task following in the footsteps of master Welsh writer Gwenlyn Parry - but he has succeded. The set was simple but effective and the choice of music between scenes also added to the rugby atmosphere. Highlights for me were the 'Shane Williams try', the ichingly - beastly French player and the conversion by you know who! I would recommend anyone to see this production - even if you are not a fan of rugby or the World Cup. I will definitely want to see this again before it ends it’s run in Cardiff on Oct 1st. |
Reviewed by: Harry Jones |
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