Betty Blue Eyes – Gladstone Theatre

A pig, a chiropodist and a lot of SPAM might seem unusual ingredients for a musical but WKMTC’s Betty Blue Eyes is a charming, funny and heart-warming show that delighted the packed house at the Gladstone Theatre last night.

Adapted from the Alan Bennett play and film A Private Function, this was another great choice for the Wirral musical society. Like last year’s Christmas Carol, these character musicals suit them so well, not only showcasing their superb singing but also some gems of character acting.

Set in 1947, the town are celebrating the Royal wedding but only the well-connected folk of the town council are invited to the private function like the doctor, the lawyer and the accountant. Poor chiropodist Gilbert Chilvers and his aspiring wife Joyce are not included. There’s little meat to be had at the butchers, so secretly a little pig is being reared for the banquet, under the nose of the gestapo-like inspector – Mr Wormold. 

Director Sharon Henderson gives us a slick, well-staged production with her team of Rob Bowness, musical director and his wonderful orchestra and choreographer Deborah Clark with her talented young troupe from Wallasey school of Ballet.   It’s a large company to get on a stage and of course in community theatre you want to include everyone, at times it was a little crowded, especially when the dancers need space, as in the Primrose Ballroom where the acrobatics really gave us the wow factor.  I loved the ensemble of townswomen with their shopping bags giving us the real feel of feeding a family on a ration-book in Fair shares for All. In the second act, the posh ladies with their hankies and the working-class women with their brooms – a lovely touch in It’s an ill-wind. Every single one of this large ensemble were singing their hearts out and acting their socks off: WKMTC showing us just what talent there is on the Wirral.

A funny plot with some wonderful characters, the commanding Joyce (Joanne Poston) and amiable Gilbert (Nick Hawkswell) as the leading couple could have been on a professional stage, the wonderful Joyce’s mother played by Kathy Jordan gave us the comedy in the very funny Pig No Pig. The town council – Allardyce (Andrew Lee) Swaby (Mike Ellis) and Lockwood (John Phipps) gave great performances along with Dave Don in their plan for the unsuspecting pig named Betty, skillfully handled by Ruth Stenhouse.  

It would be impossible to mention everyone but for me just some of the highlights were:  the beautifully sung Magic Fingers – When Gilbert does his house-rounds to Mrs. Roach (Helen Roberts) Mrs. Lester (Amy Duggan) and Mrs. Turnbull (Becki Jenkins) it was a goose bump moment!  The reprise with Mrs. Metcalf (Tia Gill) had a different feel but was just as memorable. The delightful Betty Blue Eyes sung by Allardyce and Gilbert: their voices blended so well. The very funny Since the War with all the men in the urinal and all the company with the confessions song which tells us the end of the tale. We even get to see the royal couple (Sophie Cottrell and Tom Parry) The authentic costumes gave us a good sense of period with excellent backdrops providing still and moving images – a great action film of stealing the pig.

In the end, all’s well that ends well – Betty, with her blue eyes, survives the butcher’s knife and everyone gets invited to the celebration, even if it’s only SPAM on the menu.

This is a super, lesser-known musical written by Ron Cowan and Daniel Lipman, although there’s a lot of Alan Bennett in there, with music by George Stiles and Lyrics by Andrew Drewe. It’s a great family show – charming, funny, uplifting and memorable and WKMTC at their best.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Reviewer: Bev Clarke

Reviewed: 3^rd November 2023

North West End UK Rating: