I spoke to Grahame Ash of Theatre Lambousa to give me a short introduction to the play Allo-Allo….known to many in England. He warned me that in that play all nationalities will be … “dragged through the cocoa”… as we say in Germany,
There will be a total attendance for the 4 nights of over 700.......... this includes Press and Charity and guests............ worlds away from the audience 70 for TL's first night ever in Spring 2007.
I wish them a successful performance over all four evenings. Break a leg!
Heidi
The show ‘Allo, ‘Allo! first came to popularity as a Television series in the UK starting in 1982 and it ran for about 10 years. It transferred to London’s West End (Theatre) in 1987. It is one of the best loved comedies in Britain and apparently was well received abroad too.
The comedy is centred on a cafe in France during the Second World War. It ridicules all nationalities involved in the war, making a great play of the national stereo types (sex-obsessed French, posh British twits).
The French characters speak English in a French accent. The English speak either with an upper class twang (like the bumbling British airman) or with a very poorly disguised French accent, such as the Englishman Crabtree (played by Brian Thomas). He is disguised as a French policeman and mispronounces lots of his words. For example instead of saying “good morning” he says “good moaning.” Then there is the French resistance leader, Michelle (played by Diana Peek) who is renowned for her catch phrase of "Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once" and often repeats herself.
Of course it doesn’t spare the Germans or the Italians. There is a “camp” Lieutenant Gruber. There is the vain General who being bald, calls his hair piece a wiglet rather than acknowledging it as a wig. The Italian Capitano is a-famed for his fighting and has all the medals to show for it, including the one he got from Fiat for long service as an engineer!
Moving onto the comedy, the owner of the cafe Rene Artois, (played by Matt Turner), tries to have an affair (a French trait) with his waitresses, Vicky and Mimi, but is always being frustrated by his long suffering wife.