Review - Dick Barton at The Warehouse Theatre, Croydon (From Sutton Guardian)

Review - Dick Barton at The Warehouse Theatre, Croydon

2:52pm Wednesday 23rd December 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

You might think that after eight episodes The Warehouse Theatre's adaptions of Dick Barton might be getting a little tired but fear not, their latest offering is every good as bit as the others.

Dick Barton: Quantum of Porridge shows that the team of Duncan Webb (writer), Stefan Bednarczky (music and lyrics) and Ted Craig (director) are not letting up and keep finding new and imaginative ways to get Barton into all sorts of trouble.

After last year's Young Dick Barton episode we return to the older Barton, who has now retired and is living happily with his son Binkie and their housekeeper.

How his son came to be is all a bit of a mystery and that's where the plot comes in as he gets kidnapped and Barton sets out to find him.

Once fed some dodgy porridge by the evil Dr Schweinhund, Barton starts travelling between the past and the present and ends up on a journey that will eventually lead him to Colditz mental hospital.

If anything it does take a little too long for the plot to get going and there's a lot of background setting to be done before you see where the story is heading.

Also, when Barton starts going into the past I got confused as to which Barton I was watching, whether it be the time travelling one or the young one from that period, and also what time zone we were in wasn't always entirely clear.

The ending is a little complicated until you get your head around it but once you do you see that the whole thing was rather cleverly done.

Robin Kingsland is good as the old Barton and Chris Dickins also plays his part well as Binkie and the young Barton but the show is stolen by Susie Emmett, who plays a myriad of parts and shows off her versatility by singing, dancing, playing instruments and acting superbly along the way.

All in all the new Barton episode does not disappoint and will leave you wondering what the team will come up with in 12 months time.

Dick Barton: Quantum of Porridge, Warehouse Theatre, Dingwall Road, running until February 21, various times and prices. Call 020 8680 4060 or visit warehousetheatre.co.uk.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)