WHO'D HAVE THOUGHT IT?
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"Out here in the fields I fight for my meals" cried Roger Daltrey in The Who's 'Baba O'Reilly' - "I put my back into my living." Out in the fields of Nidderdale they may not do a lot of scrapping, but the cast of Keith Burton's new play at the Pateley Bridge Playhouse certainly put their backs into proceedings. |
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| Not just during the performances, either, but in the weeks that have led up to them: in a grand example of life imitating art, to tell the tale of a misbegotten crew attempting to pass themselves off as a Who tribute band, the actors learnt new instruments - in the case of one performer, picking up the drums from scratch in a matter of months. |
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| Set in a bucolic version of middle England that would make Richard Curtis feel right at home, the story unfolds in and around a village hall as the committee of a beleaguered local museum bungle successive attempts to secure the funding they need to keep it open. |
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| Pompous Reginald (Nevin Ward) ... |
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| ... flamboyant Magnus (Jerry Harvey) ... |
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| ... capable Lynne (Linda Harvey) ... |
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| ... and dyspeptic Timothy (Steve Rouse) fall foul of their own incompetence ... |
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| ... and the sharp tongue of the hall's caretaker, Tallulah (Carol Bailey), offending various Government Ministers and managing to leave their institution with a mere 85p in the cash box. "We could sell the box for more," observes Magnus. |
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| Out of ideas, they hit on the notion of impersonating a once-famous-ish Who tribute act - the original members of which are conveniently dead - at a forthcoming battle of the bands, hoping to snaffle the cash prize and save the museum. |
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| Aided by mildly narcissistic choir master Julian (Michael Thorne) ... |
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| ... and church organist Hilda (Ruth Dodsworth) ... |
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| ... alongside is-she-with-them-or-not friend Chrissie (Joyce Liggins), they set about attempting to become avatars for one of Rock 'n' Roll's most iconic acts. |
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| If that sounds daft, it is. The fact that the premise - one that Keith Moon would surely have deemed too out there even for him - holds together at all is down to two things: a witty and observant script that's self-conscious enough to recognise and revel in its own absurdity, while simultaneously acknowledging the transformative power of music; and a talented cast who throw themselves at it with energy, grace and rock star levels of gleeful abandon. |
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| There are some twists, some laughs, a poignant sub-plot played with fine restraint by Jerry Harvey, a tremendous training montage that wins deserved applause, and of course a triumphant finale that, when it arrives, feels like everyone involved has earned it. |
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| Dodsworth transforms into mystic rock organist ... |
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| ... Ward's liberated character finds his bass groove ... |
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| ... Bailey's extraordinary crash course sees her on drums powering the whole thing ... |
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| ... while Thorne and Rouse channel Daltrey and Townshend with total committment - windmilling and mic-swinging included - to lead a live rendition of 'Won't Get Fooled Again' that brings the house down. |
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Audiences have been whooping, cheering, singing and leaving with smiles on their faces matched only by those of the cast, who have clearly been having a ball. Like the band that inspired it, 'Who'd Have Thought It?' is irreverent, riotous, serious fun. There's no substitute for that. |
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Review by Russ Thorne
Photographs by Chris Iredale and Debbie Forsyth
A YouTube trailer for the show can be found here!