Acorn Antiques - A Tough Nut To Crack!

Comedy is the hardest thing in the world - which makes it all the more surprising that so few 'funny men and women' have been recognised as the great performers they are by the USA's Academy Awards over the years.

Even more difficult is the ability to be funny whilst appearing somewhere between stupid or inept because, therein, lies brilliance. It's the stuff TV memories are made of - Les Dawson's piano playing, Steptoe and Son, Only Fools & Horses, Ronnie Barker in Porridge and, indeed, those unforgettable characters from Acorn Antiques.

So it is a brave company that treads where others fear to go, knowing that when they do, they will be judged alongside the brilliance of people like Victoria Wood and Julie Walters, those great stalwarts of Northern comedy.

The Croft Theatre Company decided to make that journey at Sheffield's Lyceum Theatre with their production of Victoria Wood's Acorn Antiques The Musical!

It is a show that has its origins in the original TV series, as indeed, did Kneehigh Theatre Company's Steptoe and Son, staged at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds last year. Only they didn't seek to emulate the TV series, they took an aspect of it, developed a script and explored the original characters at an emotional level.

And that's where the comparison must end, because Croft Theatre had to work with a pre-ordained show requiring brilliant comedy actors and, at times, there were belly laughs, specifically the result of show anchor, Helen Kempton and her beautifully crafted Mrs Overall: every mannerism, every stoop, impeccable timing, macaroons, and a perfect, seamless Brummie accent!

But, when you put a Ferrari on the circuit, only expect one victor if the other vehicles are Mondeos! For me, this was Helen Kempton's show and, without her as the linchpin, it would have been a lesser production. In truth, she needed more brilliance around her if only to dim her shining light and make the production more balanced.

She was a comedienne, sadly the others weren't. For me they were 'actors' seeking to be funny but not quite making the grade. Nevertheless, as with all amateur companies - and I am a great supporter - there was an enthusiastic audience for this popular group of thespians who must be applauded for breaking new ground (the Merry Widow and Hello Dolly can't live for ever!).

Victoria Wood wrote the brilliant libretto: "Clifford's mum is now in the NHS die-in-your-own-home scheme," so she knew what she was looking for - in every line, every word when you shift a microcosm away from what was originally intended - probably inadvertently - you are no longer funny and the gap between humour and a laugh narrows to a cringe. In fairness, there weren't too many of those.

The show centres around the goings on at Manchesterford's Acorn Antiques and the prospect of it being taken over by The Guilty Bean coffee chain. It parodies soaps, musicals and has all the supporting accoutrements of malfunctioning scenery and Ray Cooney-type entrances and exits.

Kate Parkin's Miss Babs was suitably busty, naughty and haughty, whilst the young lady, of larger proportions, seemed so in place in the front-row song and dance lineups...all so Northern, so spoof like, so apt.

Martin Peacock as Mr Clifford was a second behind everyone else on the choreography but, honestly, it didn't matter that his smile to the dress circle was intermittently interrupted as he sneakily watched for the next move from the dancer to his left!

A good show, a brave production and applause to Mark Harris who, in directing this musical, had, in comedy terms, the equivalent of herding geese! Well done Croft House Theatre Company - you will be brilliant by Saturday night. Can I come again next week?

Until Saturday 7.15pm