Charley's Aunt - The Lowry - 19/03/07 by David Adair

The understated, Liverpudlian performer then playwright of the early twentieth century, Brandon Thomas wrote this play and the part of the impromptu, cross-dressing lead character Lord Fancourt Babberly (Babs), solely for the benefit of respected comedian William Sydney Penley. Who described the part as being tailor made for him, “like a coat”.

For this resurrection of the refined farce, in the case of Stephen Tompkinson (of Ballykissangel, Drop The Dead Donkey and ‘Brassed Off’ fame), the lead role is more akin to donning a kilt. In the sense that it is a bold departure from his usual, relatively straight laced characters in comedies. The transition he makes from the well-to-do, but hard up jack the lad of St Olde’s college who pinches four magnums of champagne from the loved up Jack and Charly (the Tim Nice-But-Dim and Dick Nice-But-Thick type characters) to the giddy dressed up aunt of Charly, is slick acting to say the least.

The former two players badger Babs into the trickery, when they learn that the scheduled visit of Charly’s Aunt has been postponed. Without the help of their chum they have no chaperone to ensure that their unrequited sweethearts; Kitty (Emily Pennant-Rea) and Amy (Tatina De Marinis), stick around long enough to be woo-ed.

The wet farcical humour has the momentum of a runaway freight train, as soon as Tompkinson dons the Victorian black dress over his trousers. This is given perspective by the stiff and dry humoured presence of Jack’s butler, Brasset (Michael Melia) who provides brief narratives to keep the audience up to date. He is the straight guy in the humour factory. Melia plays the role with chilling rigidity and grace. A returning lost love interest of Bab’s or Charly’s Aunt, as he likes to be called, maintains the serious undertone to proceedings. Inter-cast chemistry keeps the forced feeling at bay, when the devastating impact of the well-intentioned double crossing starts to be rescinded by the arrival of Charly’s “real” Aunt.

It is easy to see why Noel Coward is one of the many famous faces to have frolicked in the lead role of this play. Theatre Royal Bath Productions does a great job in celebrating the dated nature of Charly’s Aunt, rather than trying to draw out any modern relevance, something that seems to be the trend with contemporary productions of classic farces. Tompinkson’s performance naturally stands out, but it is made all the better by his/her interaction with the rest of the cast who support him so well.