Not Very Flash, Gordon
By Charles Philip
Directed by: Adrian Barrett
Production Dates: 26th-28th January 2023
Location: Durley Memorial Hall
PHOTOS
PRESS RELEASE
Planet Earth is under attack from evil overlord, Emperor Ping. Determined to hold our planet’s citizens to ransom by controlling all of Earth’s electricity, it seems as if nothing can save us!
Step forward bumbling electrician Gordon ‘Flash’ Bennett, his monosyllabic girlfriend, his man-mad mother and a German Professor to save the day!
Performances are in Durley Memorial Hall from 26th to 28th January 2023 at 7.30 each evening, with a matinee at 2.30 on the Saturday. Tickets are £10 (under-18s £8) and are available from www.bishopstokeplayers.uk/buy-tickets (no booking fee), or email boxoffice@bishopstokeplayers.uk, or phone 07871 006551.
Proceeds to be donated to the charity, Action for Children.
REVIEWS
Scene One Plus
https://sceneoneplus.com/not-very-flash-gordon-2
Bishopstoke Players
Durley Memorial Hall
Anne Waggott
27 January 2023
A pantomime set in space about an electrician protecting the Earth’s electrical supply… Surely that would never work? Oh yes, it would – and oh yes, it does!
When the evil Emperor Ping of Planet Pongo plots with his henchmen, Pang and Pong, to take control of all of the Earth’s electricity, holding every one of the planet’s citizens to ransom, who else can save the day but bungling electrician Gordon ‘Flash’ Bennett? (There’s a reason he has his nickname, but I won’t spoil it!)
Assisted by his man-mad mother, an eccentric German Professor and his gruff girlfriend, Flash sets off in a converted yellow van to the Planet Pongo, to save the citizens of Earth from Emperor Ping’s outrageous demands, faster than you can say “Martin Lewis”!
Pantomime is often a child’s first introduction to theatre, so it’s great to see how Bishopstoke Players have interwoven child and adult actors so well into their production (also in keeping with their ongoing support for Action For Children).
Beth Bowers more than holds her own as the eponymous hapless hero, even brushing off a minor line mishap in a manner that is beyond many adult actors! Steve Hunter is totally engaging as her mother, Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Bennett, bringing every essential essence of the pantomime Dame to the stage, and holding the audience in the palm of ‘her’ hand. Dr Hans Zupp may be a stereotypical character, but Richard Bevis-Lacey brings hilarity and high entertainment to the role, while the twist in Dale’s character is unexpected and very well brought to life by Bernice Bevis-Lacey.
Obviously to have a hero, there must be a villain – and what a villain Mark Woodcock brings to the show! He produces an authentic, dynamic and slightly manic evil intention in the character, which works so well, while he can just as easily slip in and out of light-hearted asides to the audience. Kimberly Jones (Pang) and Alison Pugh (Pong) compliment each other perfectly as Ping’s duo of partners in crime, and also have an excellent rapport with the audience.