Review: Pardon Me Prime Minister, Norbury Theatre, Droitwich Spa

THERE'S nothing like a good bit of scandal and some scantily clad women to attract a crowd.

And the latest offering from the Norbury Theatre had it all, providing a barrel of laughs along the way for audiences during its four-night run last week.

Yes there were three ladies in various stages of undress throughout but there was certainly more to this political farce, directed by Mike Matthews, than just that.

John Sears was simply excellent as hopeless Prime Minister George Venables, while Dennis Smith was equally adept as Chancellor and would-be PM Hector Crammond.

As the show gathered pace the pair confidently kept the action and gags moving along nicely.

The plot was a complex one with everything taking place the afternoon before the Chancellor, also after the top job, is due to deliver a radical budget to tax gambling and night clubs out of existence.

Basically, chaos ensues. Mystery daughter Shirley Springer (Rebecca Peberdy), a female journalist (Eleanor Peberdy) and an ex-girlfriend (Moira Hilton) all turn up for various reasons.

Add to that a love-starved secretary (Kate Freeman), a chatterbox wife (Liz Whitehouse) and the PM's secretary (Carl Withers) and things get really interesting.

Top it off with countless frantic situations and a couple of surprise revelations and you've got an entertaining farce.

And hats off to writers E Taylor and J Graham for naming the PM's secretary Rodney Campbell.

If only they'd have known. . . .

SC