M*A*S*H is a smash hit for Alman
Hamish Hutchinson • Published 15 Jun 2011 09:30
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Hawkeye, Trapper and Duke enjoy one of their many Martini breaks.
Picture: David Robertson
LOOKING for a sMASHing time, then the Alman Dramatic Club has your answer.
In what has to be their most ambitious production to date, the Alloa-based amateur theatre company is staging M*A*S*H all this week.
The play is based on the book, MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, which itself was the basis for the hit Robert Altman film and subsequent spin-off television series. The gang is all here - Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke, Radar and, of course, Hot Lips Houlihan.
With a big cast and an even bigger set, the Alman have pulled off a production that really has to be seen to be believed.
The play, co-directed by George Marcinkiewicz and Gerry Docherty, marks a return to the Devonvale Hall for the company where it previously staged another war-time drama, Lie of the Land.
The decision to move the performers out of their home (the Coach House Theatre) and to the Tillicoultry venue was due in part to timing of much-needed roofing work but mainly because of the scale of the production.
A front extension to the stage stretches out towards the audience while two large camouflaged areas at the side of the stage hide the large number of props and staging that the actors deal with over the two-hours.
It all adds to the feeling of being transported back to the 1950s and a field hospital three miles from the Korean War front-line.
This classic war comedy follows the exploits of the medical and army personnel of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital 4077.
Between hospital shifts and countless rounds of Martinis, wisecracking surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre make it their business to undercut the smug, moralistic pretensions of Bible-thumper Major Frank Burns and Army true-believer Major "Hot Lips" Houlihan.
Hawkeye is played by Alman regular Gary D'Arcy. He brings a charm to the cocky character and bounces well off Alman debutant Ewan Murrie who pulls off an almost flawless Southern accent as fellow partner-in-crime Duke.
Another regular, Denzil Wright, takes on the role of Trapper, made famous by Elliott Gould in the movie, and makes the part his own.
Singing, a staging of the Last Supper, the surgery scenes, the list goes on at the stand-out moments.
The Alman has stepped out of its comfort zone and delivered something truly memorable.
The show began last night (Tuesday) and continues until Saturday starting at 7.30pm. There is also a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm.
To book tickets, priced £8, call 07929561311 or pay on the door.
This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 15 Jun 11
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