Stop Messing About – New Theatre, Oxford

Writer: Johnnie Mortimer & Brian Cooke

Director: Michael Kingsbury

Reviewer: Talisker Macleod

The Public Reviews Rating:

Stop Messing About at the New Theatre in Oxford was, from start to finish, pure delight. A very unassuming beginning (with some excellent silent comedy) as the BBC studio sound-boy set up chairs and microphones gave one the sense of actually being part of the audience in a BBC recording studio; Charles Armstrong as Douglas Smith, the announcer, had the BBC accent of that era perfect and his flirting with Joan Sims (India Fisher) was highly entertaining, as was his constant attempt at egoism. Nigel Harrison as Hugh Paddick showed great versatility in the number of characters he donned during the show and all were a delight. However, for me, the show was definitely stolen by Robin Sebastian as Kenneth Williams – it is no surprise that the West End critics were impressed.

The format was of two halves, each one being a separate radio show broadcast. So often with comedy, second half fails to live up to the promise of the first. In this case however, the second half flew by as quickly and entertainingly as the first, and by doing it as two shows they were able to get a seamless flow of banter in each part. Part of the skill of this production is that one was never quite sure where the script left off and the improvisation began in a seamless performance containing plenty of comments and one-liners truly worthy of Williams and Sims.

Not being of that era, I could not compare the performances of Armstrong and Harrison to the original Douglas Smith and Hugh Paddick. However, if Robin Sebastian’s take on Kenneth Williams is anything to go by, superb would probably be the best word. Having loved Carry On films from my childhood, such lines as “infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me!” are quintessentially Williams, and no one else can quite deliver them.

Sebastian however has managed the almost impossible, mimicking a seemingly inimitable actor in voice and mannerism in a truly evocative performance, and delivering it with precisely the right style and timing. Whilst appalling puns and jokes are stock in trade for this kind of comedy, it is the delivery that makes it, and all four of the cast have this down to a fine art. If Carry On humour was ever your cup of tea, then this is unmissable. Stop messing about and get your tickets now!