02-Dec-2010

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la and it doesn't get any jollier or fa-la-la-la-la than this.

Eastern Angles Christmas show, Gills Around the Green is an hilarious parcel of fun, merriment, music and extreme silliness.

To reveal all its secrets would be to spoil the surprises but if you're looking for sea food jokes, this is the plaice to find them. (I know, I know, but after an evening of even worse puns, I don't care any more.)

The story begins, appropriately, in an icy Suffolk around now. Young Vernon, the commercial traveller, sells anti-wrinkle cream but dreams of being Aqua Boy, a super-hero with a bathroom range of special equipment.

He sets off to deliver a consignment but has reckoned without the intervention of mad scientist Professor Grimsby and a rather irritating woman called Tory.

What happens next is part sci-fi, part bonkers.

The audience is on tenterhooks: will Vernon fulfil his world-changing destiny in a far distant future or will the east coast crabs get him?

In fact, the comedy addresses some of the most pressing questions facing planet Earth in the 21st century - climate change, over-fishing, pollution, the survival of the human race, the course of evolution - but it is all done with the unique daftness we have come to expect of an Eastern Angles Christmas classic.

Writer and director Julian Harries consummately takes on a number of roles (six) plus assorted voice-overs.

He ranges from patrician leader of a futuristic Suffolk community to a cod-Shakespeare quoting biker but never forsakes that irrepressible schoolboy mischievousness.

Nicholas Agnew has the distinction of having just one part to play; that of central character Vernon Spratt. He is an engaging hero, even in a midi-length tunic and sleeveless pullover.

Holly Ashton is a splendidly disdainful Tory Harrington-Smythe; Rose van Hooff's Leda is endearing and she transforms wonderfully to become the countryside dweller Grimkin.

Kai Simmons shows himself a truly versatile actor, effortlessly swapping gender and even species!

The costumes, props, set and special effects all have that Eastern Angles seasonal stamp of invention and economy. Pat Whymark's original score is witty and catchy.

LYNNE MORTIMER

02-Dec-2010

Eastern Angles can always be relied on to turn the traditional Christmas show on its head and, on this occasion, it's a case of ‘In Cod We Trust'. Gills Around The Green, Julian Harries' and Pat Whymark's 12th festive offering for Eastern Angles is a fishy affair.

It's the usual surreal offering so any attempt to summarise the plot is predictably difficult. Suffice to say a young sales rep dreams of becoming super hero Aqua Boy, a mad scientist has plans for human/fish hybrids and, given the current wintery blast, a highly topical story line about being stuck in a snow drift all combine to give a vision of 30,000 years in the future. Add in some knowing references to a plethora of sci-fi films, local references, audience participation and some over the top characters and it descends into comedic chaos.

Madcap doesn't quite cover it. Jokes come thick and fast and, yes, they may stink as badly as the fish of the plot, but this is a show with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek. At times it does seem like it's trying too hard to cram in the required amount of jokes per minute and some look at structure may aid the flow at times. Perhaps that is intentional; after all, Gills Around The Green is meant to be rough around the edges and chaotic - a bit like the enfant terrible of Pantoland.

Playing a multitude of ridiculous characters, the company - Julian Harries (also directing), Nicholas Agnew, Kai Simmons, Holly Ashton, and Rose Van Hooff work well together although, at times, they do seem unsure of the piece.

Given the small space of the Sir John Mills there are, surprisingly, some projection issues that lose some of the fast-paced script and a couple of first night issues should hopefully be ironed out during the run.

With more time to settle into the roles and some tightening of some scene transitions, Gills Around The Green provides an antidote to the saccharin sweetness of traditional panto.

Glen Pearce