Frank Spencer (Reon Materman) and his wife Betty (Krystal Connell) on set at Levin Little Theatre, rehearsing for the opening night of 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'.
Frank Spencer (Reon Materman) and his wife Betty (Krystal Connell) on set at Levin Little Theatre, rehearsing for the opening night of 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'.
Everyone’s favourite failure Frank Spencer is back, this time at Levin Little Theatre for the stage adaptation of the comedy television series Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em.
The small cast and crew were busy this week putting the finishing polish on the show ahead of opening night tonight - which had sold out already - although there were tickets still available for a further seven shows.
The stage show was born from a cult television series by the same name that starred Michael Crawford as the main character, Frank Spencer. It ran for 22 episodes and was hugely popular at its peak, with an audience of 25 million viewers in 60 countries.
Betty Spencer (Krystal Connell) and Barbara Fisher (Kimberleey Stevenson) backstage before a rehearsal of 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'.
It’s a comedy centred around Spencer, a beret-wearing simpleton and trainwreck who bumbled his way from one chaotic episode to the next.
The role of Spencer will be played by Reon Materman, who said he hasn’t tried to be Michael Crawford in his approach to the role.
“There is only one Michael Crawford. There is no second Michael Crawford. He was special,” he said.
Materman is 28 years old. It was his parents’ generation that would have grown up watching the show on television - so to bring himself up to speed, he rented a season of Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em on DVD to help him absorb the essence of the Frank Spencer character.
“I was relatively aware of who he was. There was a bit of pressure, but I haven’t tried to replicate it. I have tried to bring a bit of myself as actor to it, while taking elements from it,” he said.
Materman had been involved in theatre before, but work commitments had meant he hadn’t been on stage for more than three years. He was contacted by the theatre to ask if he would be interested in auditioning for the part.
Dave Key goes over his lines backstage at Levin Little Theatre.
He said playing Frank Spencer was his biggest role yet. The play demanded a lot of the main characters as it had some intricate dialogue, especially for Materman, who has to negotiate some tricky phrases.
He has had to immerse himself in “Frank-isms”.
“I knew it was going to be pretty heavy, and there is a complexity to it ... he says frontwards backwards,” he said.
“Some of the lines in the play will stick with me for a long time.”
Ryan Burnell, assistant director of 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'.
Betty will be played by Krystal Connell, with a supporting cast of William Gilbert (Father O’Hara) and Barbara Fisher (Kimberleey Stevenson), along with Bob Bailey and Dave Key, who share two cameo roles apiece.
The play, which starts with the very same introductory music from the TV show, is directed by Sonya Grimstrup, who had previously directed Calendar Girls at the theatre and had appeared onstage herself in Vicar of Dibley.
Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was originally written by Raymond Allen and was adapted for the stage by Guy Unsworth.
Thomas Clarke comes in a week before opening night to learn the lighting cues at Levin Little Theatre.
SHOWINGS:
Saturday, April 22: Dinner at 6pm. Show at 7.30pm.
