No Sex Please - We're British - performed October 1991
By Anthony Marriott and Alistair Foot Performed with the kind permission of Samuel French Director - Val Taylor Cast (in order of appearance) Peter Hunter Charles Padgham Frances Hunter Amanda Goodman Eleanor Hunter Val Taylor Brian Runnicles Stephen Elsey Leslie Bromhead Ken Neale Superintendent Paul Adrian Bolton Mr Needham Nigel Lister Susan Wendy Watson Barbara Alison Trenerry Delivery Man Chris Mead
Production Team Jude Hussey, Jenny Rollings, Bruce Emeny, Maurice Barber, Greg Garrad, Alan Laurie, Alison Brett, Chris Wheeler, Jenny Glayzer, Gill Baxter, Patience Ling, Viv Wheatley, and other volunteers not mentioned. The Play A young bride who lives above a bank with her husband who is the assistant manager, innocently sends a mail order off for some Scandinavian glassware. What comes is Scandinavian pornography. The plot revolves around what is to be done with the veritable floods of pornography, photographs, books, films and eventually girls that threaten to engulf this happy couple. The matter is considerably complicated by the man's mother, his boss, a visiting bank inspector, a police superintendent and a muddled friend who does everything wrong in his reluctant efforts to set everything right, all of which works up to a hilarious ending of closed or slamming doors. Reviews No farce would be complete without plenty of double-entendres, an irate mother-in-law and at least one member of the cast losing their trousers. And the Manifest Theatre Group’s production of No Sex Please – We’re British, manages to combine all these elements in a riotous two hour performance. Newly-wed Frances Hunter, played by Amanda Goodman, orders a consignment of what she hopes will be Swedish glassware, but is horrified to receive a box of pornographic photographs. The attempts of Frances and her husband Peter, played by Charles Padgham, to dispose of the photos lead to a series of misunderstandings involving the police, the bank manager and finally two call-girls. Val Taylor was impressive as the catty Eleanor Hunter, but it was Stephen Elsey playing the harassed bank clerk Brian Runnicles, unwittingly dragged into the action, who stole the show. Ian Carter When the wife partner of a bank official, newly wed, gets pornographic material, increasingly salacious, instead of the Swedish glassware she was expecting, the stage is set for frantic goings-on in true farcical vein. With a number of her cast of limited experience in this very difficult field, Val Taylor has rightly insisted on pace, pace and more pace to gloss over the basic implausibilities. She leads the way with her effortless timing to create a memorably refined, snide parent with certain devious designs on the urbane Leslie Bromhead of Ken Neale. Nigel Lister’s tall sleeping-pill affected Mr Needham gets into some glorious scrapes with a brace of ladies of doubtful virtue as gleefully pointed up by the highly coloured pairing of Wendy Watson and Allison Trenerry. The husband-and-wife team of Charles Padgham and Amanda Goodman dash about in ever more desperate attempts to stave off disaster, MANIC But even their frenetic endeavours are outpaced by a manic performance by Stephen Elsey as the Chief Cashier Runnicles. This comic impact would be further enhance, paradoxically by slowing down occasionally and underlining the verbal point being made. His physical presence and vocabulary of comedy movement however , is considerable and his panic-stricken vaulting through the service hatch of a very good set richly deserves its applause. Chris Mead’s momentary Delivery Man is a shining example of how to create a viable character in 30 seconds. The audience took a long time to warm up but by the middle of the second scene were in fits of laughter which held – and indeed accelerated – to the final curtain. This enterprising society now owns its own theatre outright – others please note! Jimmy James Photo Shoot If you have any photos from this production, then please let us know. Back