Review: Some Mothers Do '˜Ave '˜Em, The Hawth
Joe Pasquale hit the Hawth stage this week as comedy icon Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (on until Saturday May 26).
I can't remember the last time I watched an episode of the 1970s classic TV comedy, but I do remember laughing a lot like my eight-year-old son Noah did at the stage version.
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Hide AdPasquale stars as the lovable accident-prone bumbling imbecile of a protagonist while Sarah Earnshaw plays his wife Betty and Susie Blake is his disapproving Mother-in-Law, Mrs Fisher.
It can't be easy taking on the role of a comedy icon but Pasquale does it with aplomb. It's not an impression, it's a tribute to the legendary Crawford performance, but he does make the role his own. Earnshaw has the perfect voice and demeanour for the role of long-suffering Betty while Blake has incredible fun as Mrs Fisher - and she makes a very convincing drunk!
There was great support as well from Moray Treadwell, David Shaw-Parker and Chris Kiely.
The humour, like the the TV show, comes from a mixture of clever word play ('my profiterole vision'), innuendo and great slapstick. Pasquale falling down the stairs was a masterclass in pratfall.
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Hide AdThe set also deserves a special mention as it was a character itself - you were always waiting to see what it did next.
For a night of harmless fun and great entertainment, you could a lot worse.
Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em is directed by the award-winning Guy Unsworth.
Tickets: Tue-Thu: £32.50, £27.50, Wed & Sat 2.30pm: £28.50, £23.50, Fri & Sat: £36.50, £31.50.
Discounts - Hawth Friends/students (Mon-Thu eve): £3 off.
Over 60: Mon-Thu eve: £4 off, 2.30pm performances: £2 off.
Groups 10 or more: £5 off.