Pitlochry
Festival Theatre
Four
stars
The
stage-spanning image of an Elizabeth Yule Pitlochry bus parked outside Pitlochry
Festival Theatre’s front door speaks volumes about the new broom approach of PFT’s
incoming artistic director Elizabeth Newman at the start of her inaugural
production. Shopping local, it seems to suggest, is just as important as the
tourist trade which traditionally provides the most picturesque emporium in
Scotland with much of its bread and butter. In this sense, Newman and
co-director Ben Occhipinti’s suitably frothy revival of Michael Gyngell and
Mark Haddigan’s stage version of this classic piece of 1960s big-screen pop
bubblegum is making a statement of sorts.
As too
are the show’s all-singing, all-dancing quartet of likely lad mechanics led by
David Rankine’s toothsome himbo Don, who are looking to up sticks from small
town Perthshire and see the world. This they do, not just by wielding a
miniature bus around the auditorium as one might lead a Conga, but by bike and,
eventually, by goat-filled boat too.
Along
the way, the crazy kids bump into a broken-down boy/ girl group as well as
Lynwen Haf Roberts’ on-the run starlet Barbara. In some of the show’s most
delightfully cartoonish scenes, she is chased by Barbara Hockaday’s pushy
showbiz mom Stella and her sidekick Gerry, with both borders and dresses being
crossed as they go.
One is
tempted to see Brexit metaphors a-go-go here in terms of freedom of movement, holiday
amours and all the baby boomer nostalgia that brings with it on Amanda
Stoodley’s flag-lined old-school Eurovision style set. In the end, however,
it’s the songs that make this well-buffed look at a seemingly more innocent age
so infectiously endearing. And it’s actually the title track from another Cliff
Richard flick, The Young Ones, that captures the you-and-me-against-the-world essence
of romantic yearning that drives the show the best.
While
smaller than PFT’s usual musical fare, as a calling card for summer holidays to
come, Newman and Occhipinti’s playful take on teenage dreams of leaving
promises much for the future, whatever the weather.
The Herald, June 3rd 2019
Ends
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