- Dad's Army (stage show)
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A poster advertising the stage show
Dad's Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain’s Finest Hour was a 1975 stage adaptation of the BBC sitcom Dad's Army. Following the success of the television programme, the stage show was commissioned by Bernard Delfont in the spring of 1975.
Jimmy Perry and David Croft adapted material from the original scripts, making changes to allow for the absence of location filming. The show was in the style of a revue, with songs, familiar scenes from the show, and individual turns for cast members. It was produced by Roger Redfarn, who shared the same agent as the writers.
Contents
Cast
Most of the principal Dad's Army cast transferred with it, with the exception of John Laurie who was replaced by Hamish Roughead. Following James Beck’s death two years earlier, Walker was played by John Bardon. Clive Dunn was replaced for half the tour by Jack Haig (David Croft’s original first choice for the role of Corporal Jones on television). Jeffrey Holland, who went on to star in several later Croft sitcoms, also had a number of roles in the production.[1]
Dates
The show opened at the Forum Theatre, Billingham, County Durham on Thursday 4 September 1975 for a two-week tryout. A local critic wrote of the event:
"The special bond of affection between cast and audience helped each item spark along" Kevin Eason[2]
After cuts and revisions, the show transferred to London’s West End and opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 2 October 1975. On the opening night there was a surprise appearance by Chesney Allen, singing the old Flanagan and Allen song Hometown with Arthur Lowe.
The show ran in the West End from 4 October to 21 February, 1976, where it was disrupted twice by bomb scares, and then toured the country until 4 September 1976. The stage show was later revived, billed as Dad’s Army—The Musical, and toured Australia and New Zealand in 2004-2005, starring Jon English.
1976 UK tour dates
Venue City Start Finish Opera House Manchester Tuesday 23 March, 1976 Saturday 10 April, 1976 Theatre Royal Nottingham Monday 12 April, 1976 Saturday 1 May, 1976 Bradford Alhambra Bradford Monday 3 May, 1976 Saturday 15 May, 1976 Hippodrome Birmingham Monday 17 May, 1976 Saturday 22 May, 1976 Pavilion Theatre Bournemouth Monday 24 May 1976 Saturday 5 June, 1976 Winter Gardens Blackpool Monday 7 June, 1976 Saturday 19 June, 1976 Theatre Royal Newcastle Monday 22 June 1976 Saturday 3 July, 1976 Richmond Theatre Richmond upon Thames Monday 12 July, 1976 Saturday 24 July, 1976 Theatre Royal Brighton Monday 26 July, 1976 Saturday 21st August, 1976 Theatre Royal Bath Monday 23 August, 1976 Saturday 4 September 1976 Running order
The show's running order was
Act One
- Scene 1 Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?
- Scene 2 Put that light out
- Scene 3 When can I have a banana again?
- Scene 4 Command Post
- Scene 5 Private Pike's Dream
- Scene 6 Cliff top: Lance Corporal Jones stands guard
- Scene 7 Battle of Britain
- Scene 8 Choir practice
Interval
Act Two
- Scene 9 The song that we would rather forget
- Scene 10 Unarmed combat
- Scene 11 Tinpan alley
- Scene 12 Morris Dance
- Scene 13 A Nightingale sang in Berkley Square
- Scene 14 Radio personalities of the 40s
- Scene 15 The beach
- Scene 16 Finale[3]
New stage show
2007 stage show
In April 2007 a new Dad's Army stage show was announced, starring former Eastenders actor Leslie Grantham as Walker and Emmerdale's Peter Martin as Mainwaring. Martin was subsequently replaced by Tim Kightley. The production ran from September 2007 until June 2008 and also featured David Warwick (Sergeant Wilson), Richard Tate (Corporal Jones) and Tom Richardson (Private Pike). Unusually, the producers Calibre Productions cast Richard Matthews in the role of the only two women in the show. [4] It features two lost[5] episodes (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker and A Stripe for Frazer) combined with two additional episodes Room at the Bottom (of which only a black-and-white version existed until December 2008) and the famous episode The Deadly Attachment.[6]
2010 stage show
A sequel to the 2007 stage show was announced in December 2009. It features the same cast as the 2007 show, but has different episodes, including "Branded" and "Mum's Army".
References
- ^ Richard Webber Dad’s Army: A Celebration, (Virgin Publishing 1997), pp.178-180, ISBN 0-7535-0307-7
- ^ Article in Hartlepool Mail 9th September 1975
- ^ An LP of the stage show entitled "Dad's Army" was released in 1975 by Warner Brothers, catalogue number K 56186
- ^ Don't panic! - Dad's Army on stage" article in Daily Telegraph Arts Section p10 29th September 2007
- ^ Dad's Army Appreciation Society descriptions
- ^ BBC entertainment news
Bibliography
- Croft,D & Perry,J, Dad's Army: the lost episodes. London: Virgin, 1998 ISBN 1852277572
- Pritchard,T: Stonehouse, Dad's Army- an appreciation. Dad's Army Appreciation Society, 2004 ISBN 095477020X
- Webber,R, Complete A-Z of Dad's Army. London Orion 2000 ISBN 0752818384
Dad's Army Characters Television episodes Spin-offs Radio episodes • Audio releases • Film • Stage show • "The Rear Guard" • It Sticks Out Half a Mile • Books and memorabiliaCategories:- Dad's Army
- 1975 plays
- 1975 musicals
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