Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Depending on where you see this tour, the part of Andre will be played by either Gary Wilmot or Mark Benton who join Michael Praed, Noel Sullivan and Carley Stenson in this musical stage adaptation of the comedy film that starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin.

The story of a couple of con artistes who get their come-uppance is simple, well told and entertaining. The music is great, costume and choreography fun and sets fabulous and I have to be honest the audience roared ... a lot.

But it just didn't do it for me.

The show just can't seem to make up its mind, on pretty well any level, what it is. Setting and costumes all very 20s, dialogue and references very 21st century. Some sections slick as you like, others descending into coarse acting. Corpsing, ad libs to the audience, inconsistent fourth wall conventions, "I may be useful to someone in the second act", Noel Sullivan's wierd faux-youth walk, dancers with their faces in darkness, "is this balcony moving?" .... none of these things (well, except the lighting) bad in their own right, in a consistently directed piece, but throwing them all into one pot .... *shiver*.

Gary Wilmot (Andre) seemed most at home in his role (despite the 'allo 'allo accent) and he and Geraldine Fitzgerald (Muriel) were the most engaging characters on stage.

Am I glad I saw it? On balance probably yes. Would I see it again? To be honest I wouldn't ... though I think when it stops touring the amateur rights might go down well.