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ARE YOU BEING SERVED? Adelaide Repertory Theatre The Arts Theatre Until 9 Apr 2011

Review by Theresa Dolman

“Are You Being Served?” is a stage adaptation of the well-known television comedy series. We know the setting, the characters, and the jokes. So when the curtain goes up we expect to see the third floor of the Grace Brothers’ Department Store, with Mr Humphries mincing "I'm free!", reporting on her pussy, and Captain Peacock struggling to maintain a dignified order. The script, by and David Croft, who wrote most of the original television series, had all of this. The production by Adelaide Rep had almost none of it.

What we see appears to be the aftermath of the Grace Brothers’ closing down sale - a couple of old desks, some incomplete mannequins, an old cash register in the middle of the floor, and no stock in sight. This sparse setting makes it difficult to believe the real story - that Grace Brothers is doing so well that it is going to send the entire staff of the third floor on a well-deserved holiday to the Don Bernardo Hotel in Spain - albeit a one star hotel.

Despite the poor setting and the often poor direction by Ian Maitland, many of the seasoned cast give good performances. The main two female roles are well executed by Georgia Dodd as Miss Brahms and Sue Wylie as Mrs Slocombe, with some wonderful one-liners and facial expressions. Bill Wood is the perfect Captain Peacock, Andrew Dowling really captures the cheeky attitude of Mr Lucas, and John Matsen's Mr Grainger is spot on. Damien White and Penni Hamilton-Smith also help bring some life to the stage in their minor roles.

Act I, set in the store, is hampered by the lack of set. The cast have nowhere to go and nothing to do while they are waiting for their turn to come forward and deliver their lines. Miss Brahms folds the same pair of ladies drawers about twenty times.

In Act II, on holiday in Spain, despite the obvious talent on stage and some wonderful outrageous outfits, the cast disappear into tents while they are not delivering lines, and so we have no idea what the characters are doing. Throughout the show, many of the jokes are lost, again due to poor direction.

Opening night also had technical problems - missed lighting cues, badly timed sound effects and curtains.

Are we being served by Adelaide Rep? Not by this production!