OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR MARINE THEATRE, LYME REGIS

OH what a great show!

You would be excused for thinking you were stepping into wartime Britain this week at the Marine Theatre, where this production of the Joan Littlewood classic musical was performed by local actors in aid of the theatre’s Raise the Roof campaign.

Front of house staff in period costume, a programme in the style of a newspaper (10 shillings), posters, bunting and flags all helped to create a buzz even before the show began.

At curtain up, I knew I was in for a treat, with local theatre royalty littering the stage.

The show started a little slowly with the Lyme Youth Theatre acting out a trip to Lyme Regis. It was lovely to see the youngsters doing their bit.

Gradually gathering pace with the help of ringmaster Pete Ward, this complex and difficult story was very well told. In front of a sparse set, the use of on stage props was excellent, and the subtle costume changes helped us understand exactly where we were and who we were listening to.

This musical is often heralded as the forerunner to the modern productions we now see in the West End. Songs are of the period and were tunefully sung, but not performed in an over-trained musical theatre way.

This helped to maintain a grittiness which sat perfectly with the atmosphere of the piece.

Despite the very serious subject matter, act one was great fun and there were some nice little song and dance numbers. Nicole Parkinson Ward, Valentine Tutcher and Ella Ratcliff had some charming numbers which were performed with sparkle and confidence.

The ladies of the cast supported the show splendidly. There were so many of my favourite local performers on stage that I can’t mention them all, but I must congratulate Anne King on her wonderful singing.

Anne has long been one of Lyme’s greatest acting talents, but who was to know she was also hiding a fantastic voice?

Act two was much more poignant, with the men in the cast coming into their own.

Special mention must go to Brian Rattenbury, who can make an audience laugh with just an entrance or a glance, but also portrayed the pomposity and single mindedness of Hague with subtlety.

Dewi Lambert was excellent and it was lovely to see Anthony Hutchings out from behind the lighting desk for a change.

There were multiple accent changes to help us understand where we were, which can sometimes be a bit tricky, but they were performed really well.

A very entertaining and well thought-out production.

NICKY SWEETLAND