Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served? belongs to another era. One of the most beloved British TV sitcoms, which ran from 1972 until 1985, it pushed the envelope of the time by trading on risqué visual gags, innuendo laced dialogue, and under-grad humour. Mrs Slocombe’s constant references to her “pussy,” and Mr Humphries “I’m free” became popular catch-phrases of the period.

Set in a department store called Grace Brothers (the name came from the original Grace Brothers in Sydney), the series was built around the misadventures of the staff of the retail ladies’ and gentlemen’s clothing departments.

It first appeared on stage at Blackpool, England, in 1976, and was later filmed in 1977. This current stage version seems to have been cobbled together from various television scripts and features a story about selling German goods in the first act and a staff holiday in Spain in the second in which they get mixed up in a civil war.

Recreating popular TV characters on stage is fraught with danger. Will the audience accept another actor playing the part? For most of the time Alex Lanham’s production succeeds, a sluggish and laugh-bereft first act gives way to a lively farcical second.

Three actors captured the likeness and essence of the characters well - Josephine Flynn as Miss Brahms, John Bennetto as Mr Rumbold, and John O’Connor as Mr Grainger. They weren’t reincarnations but they were close. The others had their moments with Victoria Costa continually scoring points as Mrs Slocombe, Jon Darbo being imperious and military as Captain Peacock and Gary Farmer giving a way OTT mincing and wrist-flapping performance as Mr Humphries, the series’ token gay, although the character was never acknowledged as such.

Two actors who impressed with characters not in the original series and one of the reasons the second act had so much life were Thomas Mitchell as the Spanish hotelier Don Bernardo, and Tyler Harris as the revolutionary Cesar.

Kiel JT Gailer’s set nicely captured the department store look of the series and a one-star Spanish hotel on the Costa Brava, while a special hooray to Tracey Leino’s costumes especially for Bryce Bofinger’s Mr Lucas in act two. Nothing says the ‘Brits on holiday’ like wearing socks with sandals. It was a masterstroke!

Peter Pinne