IN THE past, members of The Florians Drama Club in Inverness have tackled everything from classic operas and pantomimes to heart-tugging dramas without so much as a flinch.
But their latest production is possibly the most challenging, as performers have had to exit the stage in tears during rehearsals.
Thankfully, it’s tears of laughter as their latest show is a stage version of Dad’s Army, the classic TV sitcom about the Home Guard during World War II.
The much-loved show ran for nine series and 80 episodes, plus Christmas specials, and regularly attracted 18million viewers – audience numbers that hugely popular shows such as The X Factor can only dream of achieving.
Written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, Dad’s Army was also turned into a radio show, film and stage show.
And it’s a version of the latter that The Florians are putting on – or will when they manage to get over their giggles, as Martin Anderson, publicity officer and Inverness Opera Company stalwart, who takes the role of Lance Corporal Jones, explained: “The script is so funny that rehearsals have been tricky as you no sooner start when someone cracks up laughing and sets the rest of us off. Even now, when we know all the jokes, some of the lines are very funny.
“Then there’s marching and drilling. A couple of the cast have a military background and they have been putting us through our paces, teaching us how to march, stand on parade, handle guns and so on.
“We will never be a fighting unit, that’s for sure. In fact, I’d say we’re more like the nickname for the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) – more like to look, duck and vanish.”
As L/Cpl Jones, Martin is required to always be one step behind everyone else while on parade.
“It’s actually quite difficult to be slower than everyone, but that’s what comedy timing is all about,” said Martin.
The show is based on three of the best-loved episodes – The Deadly Attachment, The Godiva Affair and Mum’s Army – and includes The Floral Dance, a sketch performed by the TV cast when they appeared in the Royal Command Variety Performance.
“Probably the best known of these is The Deadly Attachment, which is the episode when Captain Mainwaring and the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon have to guard a captured U-boat captain and his crew.
“It includes the classic line ‘Don’t tell him, Pike’, which as soon as we hear it in rehearsals sets us all off again.”
Mum’s Army focuses on the time when the Home Guard begin recruiting women, but as Mrs Mainwaring hasn't left the house for years, she won’t be joining her husband's platoon.
So, when newcomer Mrs Gray joins, Captain Mainwaring is set for a brief encounter.
“The third episode is The Godiva Affair, when the platoon decide to do a Morris Dancing routine as part of a fundraising carnival parade which will include a ride past by Lady Godiva,” said Martin.
“Jones’s lady friend is chosen to play the part of Lady Godiva, which leads to much hilarity, but it also means we have to dress up and do a Morris Dance routine, which is very funny.
“The last sketch wasn’t in the TV series, but was written especially for the cast to perform on the Royal Variety Show and it involves all 21 cast members being on stage at the same time, which, given the size of the stage in the Little Theatre, is quite a squeeze.”
With a host of well-loved characters including aspirational Captain Mainwaring, smoothie Sgt Wilson, gormless Private Pike and dour Scot Private Frazer, and one-liners regarded as classics including “Stupid boy”, “Don’t panic, don’t panic” and “Doomed, we’re all doomed”, and music from the era, tickets for the shows are bound to sell out quickly.
The Florians present Dad’s Army at the Little Theatre, Bught Park, Inverness, from next Monday, September 13, to Saturday, September 18. There will be no performance on Thursday, September 16. Tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for children. These are available online at www.thebooth.co.uk