Porridge - New Wimbledon Theatre (Review)
Review by David Munro
WHEN is a play not a play? When, like Porridge now at the New Wimbledon Theatre, it’s a patchwork of old dialogue and plot situations scavenged from a successful TV sitcom of the same name from the last century.
The TV original was a vehicle for Ronnie Barker who played the old con, Fletcher, a scheming, devious, unscrupulous recidivist whose years of experience enabled him to work the prison system to his own advantage.
It was a brilliant comedy performance by Barker who, supported by excellent scripts by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (who have also cobbled together the scenario for the current theatrical version) enabled it to run for several years and even gave rise to a less successful sequel about his life after prison.
Each episode ran for half an hour but the dialogue, which worked so well on the small screen, is lost on a theatre stage where the nuances and bon mots seem flat and unfunny when projected into the vastness of the auditorium rather than enjoyed in the intimacy of the living room.
It is not, therefore, in my view, the fault of the hard working cast when for two hours they play to an audience who titter politely from time to time but fail to appreciate the humour of the TV original or find any humour in what they are watching.
Taking on the Ronnie Barker role of Fletcher is a challenge and Shaun Williamson rises to it magnificently. Whilst making the character his own, his performance gives hints of the Barker Fletcher without making it an impersonation of the original.
It’s a well rounded and believable personification of a loveable rogue and he was rewarded with the lion’s share of what laughter there was.
Had the authors created a coherent plot around the character rather than adapting storylines from the TV series, Williamson’s performance would have been greatly enhanced. As it was, he made the best of the very spasmodic storylines he was given and almost made them into a coherent evening’s entertainment; so, one must give him full credit for this.
As his sidekick/cellmate Godber, Daniel West had a strong resemblance to the late Richard Beckinsale (who created the part) and was an admirable foil of innocence as opposed to Fletcher’s roguery. He had charm and a pleasing naiveté which gave credence to Fletcher’s concern for his future.
The rest of the cast gave full justice to characters from the series and in many cases were indistinguishable from them, in fact so much so that I was surprised not to see the ubiquitous Christopher Biggins among them re-creating his original role.
This is, however, a sad epilogue to a famous series and one which it might have been better never to have initiated. I was not sure at the end of the evening who had been serving porridge, the cast or the audience – as far as I was concerned it had been a two hour stretch of very hard labour!
Porridge by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais
Director – Gavin McAlinden
Set designer – Paul Wills
Lighting – Bob Bustance
Sound – Glen Hadley
CAST: Shaun Williamson; Daniel West; Nicholas Lumley; John Conroy; Peter Alexander; Richard Syms; Claire Andreadis; Andre Scott Butler; Jon de Ville; Jolana Lee; Mark Pearce; Barrett Robertson; Alex Tanner; Matt Weyland; Ryan Winston.
Presented by Calibre Productions .
New Wimbledon Theatre, The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1QG.
Mon, Feb 15 – Sat, Feb 20, 2010.
Evenings: 7.30pm/Matinees: Thurs & Sat 2.30pm.
Box Office: 0870 060 6646