Are You Being Served?

Monitor's Jacquelyn Curtis and Jason Tozer return in the roles of iconic movie reviewers Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton to join the UCU Players for their latest production – Are You Being Served?

Are you free, Mr Humphries?

22 November 2006:The UCU Players Company once again bring a beloved BBC comedy to the stage on Friday and Saturday evenings, this time portraying the lovable staff of Grace Brothers from Are You Being Served?

Written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, the series followed the antics of the staff in the ladies and menswear departments at the old-fashioned London store.

The original pilot episode aired in 1972 when the BBC encountered scheduling problems following the tragic murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.

With prime time slots vacant and no sport to fill them, the BBC turned to pilot comedies including Are You Being Served? to solve the dilemma.

The parody of a rigid British class system introduced the catchphrase ‘Are you free?’ and plenty of not so subtle innuendo, which proved popular with viewers.

However, it was undoubtedly the memorable characters like Mr Humphries and Mrs Slocombe that saw the series run for 13 years and spawn a feature film in 1977.

'David': Margaret…

'Margaret': It is now obvious that one of the talents of the UCU Players Company is capturing iconic BBC characters. A purple-rinsed, bouffant-haired Mrs Slocombe, played by Nina Stevenson, and a perfectly effeminate swaggering Mr Humphries played by Craig Marvell were fantastic.

D: The Company is now seasoned at bringing BBC productions to the stage, however, I would love to see what they could do with some classic US television such as Get Smart or Bewitched.

M: I think they’d adapt easily to American humour that lacks the wit and innuendo many BBC series like Are You Being Served? are famous for.

D: I can’t deny it isn’t a different form of humour, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less challenging to bring to a theatre environment. Don Adams’ Maxwell Smart would be delightful to see on stage.

M: Based on him filling John Inman’s shoes in this production. Marvell would do particularly well as Agent 86.

D: He did have quite a legacy to do justice to. Inman was voted BBC personality of the year during that time as well as funniest man on TV. I also think Hugh Stevenson played the haughty and officious Captain Peacock rather well.

M: What piqued my interest in this production was the fact it departed from the traditional series scripts. An adaptation of the 1977 feature film, which received mediocre reviews after its release, was a very ambitious task.

D: The film centered upon a staff holiday in Spain while the store had renovations, definitely an ambitious task for a stage production – particularly since the characters rarely left their department floor, let alone the store. Nonetheless the ‘tropical’ setting provided plenty of cultural misunderstanding.

M: Yes, there was certainly no shortage of humour, with the climax of the production involving a case of mistaken identity and one of Mrs Slocombe’s many attempts to seduce Captain Peacock.

D: Ah, but you’re forgetting Captain Peacock’s advances on the delectable but unwitting Miss Brahms.

M: Well it all added to the hilarity of the production. Despite a few opening night jitters, it was very well staged. I give it four stars.

D: It was an appropriate ending to the UCU Players 2006 program. I’m giving it three and a half.

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