THE FALCON PLAYERS BRING IT OFF AGAIN
A farce that will leave you feeing ticklish
The FALCON Players served up yet another first-class farce with their 'naughty but nice' production of Derek Benfield's Flying Feathers.
Naughty because the action takes place in a fine country residence turned into a house of ill-repute.
Nice because the script is brimming with double entendre which if not always profoundly amusing certainly kept the goot natured humour flowing along nicely.
Hapless Henry Potterton (Brian Binns) arrives with sister Sarah (Laraine Gibson) to find the house left to them by their deceased brother, Bernard, run by a strange but saucy group of maids.
Led by Nora Winthrop (Janet Holmes) the fine fillies manage to hoodwink Potterton who for a policeman can't see the red light flashing constantly in his face!
The plot comes to a logical, but unexpected, conclusion with the true owner and supposedly dead Bernard - who just happens to be Henry's twin - arriving at the house complete with monk's habit!
Binns gave a solid, professional performance which held many of the scenes together and he was aided admirably by the superb Holmes, who would give Molly Sugden a run for her money any day of the week.
These principals were ably backed by Terry Dixon who as fake vicar Roger Featherstone graphically got 'hot under the collar' on a number of occasions.
The 'girls' - Sally (Bee Chase), Jackie (Sonya Oates) and Debbie (Sue Allen) - provided fine support as did Gibson in her small but important role.
And Roy Emmett as the confused and dazed Mr Tunnicliffe makes a late but great contribution.
However special mention must go to Yvonne Marshall who stuck out (in more ways than one) as the ever changing Polly.
The set design was simple but more than adequate for a piece based in a country home and the writer's theme was, I would guess accurately conveyed.
As with all farces of this ilk, the humour is an acquired taste normally suited to committed 'Terry and June' fans.
Nevertheless the performers hardly put a foot wrong and the mainly middle-aged audience loved every minute of it - normally a fair gauge of the play's success. LS