Dad’s Army

by Jimmy Perry and David Croft

Tinkers Farm, directed by Emma Harley

Chaddesley Corbett Village Hall – Thursday 25th September 2025

Most of us will be familiar with “Dad’s Army”, a BBC sitcom which ran from 1968 to 1977 producing 80 episodes over 9 series + specials and still shown regularly on BBC2 to this day. And whilst this may be heresy in quarters, as good as “Fawlty Towers” is, in my opinion “Dad’s Army” is much better.

This stage production has adapted three episodes from the series – “The Deadly Attachment” and “Mum’s Army” which are both widely regarded as classic episodes plus the lesser known “The Goviva Affair” and a shorter scene (“The Floral Dance”) taken from one of those “Christmas Night with the Stars” programmes which used to be on regularly during the 1970s.

These were largely studio-bound episodes which lend themselves better to stage performances than some of those with extensive location work.

A lot of the TV show was very much based around the Church Hall and the Vicar’s Office, and this was the main stage set used in this production. This was a very interesting set, lots of things on the walls which enhance the experience without necessarily adding to the plot. There was half a wall with a door in to move from one to the other though I’m fairly sure that Sergeant Wilson effectively walked through a “wall” at one point.

There was a good use of lighting to distinguish scenes that only involved one or other set, so we could concentrate on the one being used without distractions.

Other scenes were added as and when, usually in front of the curtains, such as the tea room and the railway station café. Some of the scene changes did seem to take a while to action, the first of which was partly covered by having some interaction between Hodges and the audience, but they were certainly worth waiting for.

Speaking of the café, I have to ask if there was anything in any of the coffee cups that were brought out? They looked suspiciously empty from where I was sitting, I’d always have these around half full to ensure authenticity.

The other technical point came during the “Deadly Attachment” segment – at one point one of the platoon is meant to fire at the ceiling and bits of plaster fall down. Whilst I acknowledge this is not the easiest thing to achieve in a theatre, let alone a church hall stage area, this just looked a bit strange – I can’t recall hearing a gunshot either so maybe a sound cue was missed.

It is at this point I have to highlight the marvellous train carriage that was set up for the end of “Mum’s Army”. This was something that is seen for less than a minute, yet the company had constructed a practically full sized carriage exterior, complete with working door and what’s more, the thing even moved at the end of the scene as the train pulled out! I always marvel at some of the attention to detail we get from amateur theatre companies, and this was right up there!

Bearing in mind that there was quite a restricted space on this set, and we had a cast of 18 occasionally on stage all at once, it was an achievement to ensure that they were well co-ordinated and the cast were all on-point here in this regard.

With a show like this, it’s always difficult to know how to pitch the performances. These are very well known characters and the audience will have had a perception of how they appeared and acted, leaving the team with a choice to make as to whether to try and mimic the TV versions or put a new spin on them.

Andrew Potter certainly had a very strong resemblance to Arthur Lowe in the role of Captain Mainwaring, with his voice almost there as well, except maybe with a slightly higher pitch. He certainly captured Lowe’s mannerisms an excellent showing bringing both the farcical and the pathos of the character to bear.

Stephen Walker gave us a suitably laid back performance as Sergeant Wilson, I think based more on Bill Nighy’s performance from the 2016 movie rather than John Le Mesurier. Even when not saying those famous words “Do you think that’s wise?” we certainly got the impression that’s what he was thinking.

Tom Bowes had definitely captured Ian Lavender’s voice as Private Pike (Then again, Lavender was a Birmingham boy!) and gave us the appropriate mix of insolence and boyhood enthusiasm. Roger Goddard as Corporal Jones certainly threw himself into possibly the most physical role with gusto.

Geoff Westwood may not have been as doddery as the TV version of Private Godfrey, but he gave us a charming performance nonetheless, whilst Tam Weir captured the “mad wide-eyed Celtic loon” Frazer without being a direct copy.

Tim Harding gave us a Warden Hodges that was possibly a little more laid back than Bill Pertwee’s version, whilst Simon Wilkinson gave us a solid performance in the role of Private Walker, with some good silent acting in the “Godiva Affair” segment, which Walker wasn’t originally in of course, being filmed after James Beck’s death.

Beth Siviter-Coupland gave us a lot of charm in the role of Mrs Grey, and whilst I have to question whether Rachael Royal is actually old enough to be Pike’s mum, this was a nice cameo.

Richard Cooper appeared in 3 different guises in this, notably as the German U-Boat Captain in the “Deadly Attachment”. Philip Madoc’s original performance was a lot to live up to but Richard did it justice.

The whole cast worked well together as a team. If I have a criticism it is that some of the jokes were almost thrown away, when maybe an extra second or two before delivering the punchline would have been in order. The one that instantly springs to mind is the David Copperfield line in “Attachment” which definitely needed a pause to give Mainwaring a lightbulb moment before coming in with the Mr Macawber reference rather than jumping straight in, but this was a minor point.

“Dad’s Army” is one of those shows that you can watch over and over again and still find funny. This team managed to take that familiar material and give us a splendid evening’s entertainment, and even managed to throw in a panto-style audience singalong at the end!

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Reviewed by – David G.