Theatr Clwyd, Yr Wyddgrug – until 28th May then Nationwide Tour
Reviewed by Julie Noller
4****
Boeing Boeing originally written by Italian Marc Camoletti and presented in 1962 at Londons Apollo Theatre. It quietly slipped away so you can be somewhat forgiven of never having heard of it’s existence however if you enjoy kitsch this may just be your dream ticket. This revival is Directed by Michael Cabot and hopefully will be visiting a city near you soon.
Take a look through any dictionary under the word farce you will find detailed descriptions but in small italic writing you will note Boeing Boeing. The whole cast must be commended for the skill they have to not only remember lines but the movements and fast paced action that sees them coming and going jumping around; sitting mid row I felt I was in a tennis match my head was bouncing left and then right attempting to keep up with the hilarious chaos on stage. I loved the music playing before each act, giving that continental 60’s feeling. I delighted in the stage set up those 60’s sitcom round lines, wanted those chairs, eyes feeling giddy at the totally dated deliciousness. Yes the idea behind a middle aged man juggling 3 young attractive Air Hostesses (all with perfect credentials and readily chosen by another man) is outdated and somewhat squirmmy. Yet if you choose to watch as a historical comedy, then sit back and enjoy. This is a time before social media instantly made any deception virtually impossible.
John Dorney is Bernard a succesful business man who lives his life by timetables, his bible is the flight schedule in and out of Paris Orly Airport and as long as everything runs on time then the three ladies he states he loves will never find out. He is surprised by an old school friend Paul Sandys as Robert a rather traditional quiet country type. The trouble begins with small slips of the tongue, the audience giggling. Our 3 young ladies fly with their national airlines and each is stereotypically wonderful. Isabel Della-Porta is Gloria our very longlegged American somewhat easy going, free spirited. Nathalie Barclay is Gabriella our hotheaded and passionate Italian, Jessica Dennis is Gretchen our very nationalistic sauerkraut loving German. It is somewhat easy for us to tell them apart as each each wears a different coloured uniform complete with bag baring the name of their airline. Put them together and I found myself in Eurovision mode. It has to be said though my absolute favourite character is the Mrs Overall esque Bertha portrayed to perfection by Jo Castleton. Despite her protesting her cheeriness her downright misery and witty dry one liners left me wondering if Julie Walters character had slipped on stage.
Now it’s no spoiler that you sense everything must and will go wrong and that’s where Bernard channels his inner Basil Faulty complete with exaggerated leg and arm movements as he struggles to regain that smug composure of a man potentially set to become very lonely. Planes get delayed, storms over the Atlantic, changes to flight routes eventually mean the 2 men (Robert begins to enjoy this life with it’s trimmings) are virtually shouting NO every few seconds. As it transpires it is the ladies who rather unbelievably move on. Gloria receives a letter from another fiance and leaves to marry him. Gretchen after mistaking Robert for Bernard and kissing him suddenly declares her love. Bernard finally has to decide to answer the phone and expand his so called harem or remain loyal, become a one woman man and marry Gabriella. It is rather far fetched and one could say farcical but with such fast paced action it has to end for not only would the actors be worn out but the audience would be exhausted. So go along, enjoy the warmth of the 1960’s the humour and that amazing set, more importantly marvel at the skills of talented actors on display