The Graduate – The Forum Theatre

I’m pleased to see Richard Parker getting another opportunity to direct a production at the Forum Theatre, Romiley, having made his directorial debut with NK earlier this year with what was probably my favourite show that I have seen this year, namely “Teechers” by John Godber. It was always going to be a difficult task to bring to the stage an adaptation of such an iconic and well known film with amazing stars (Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katherine Ross) but I must say that the director and cast have done a great job with the interpretation of the characters.

The Graduate premiered on stage in London 25 years ago and is the story of young Benjamin Braddock and his seduction by the infamous Mrs Robinson and his falling in love with her daughter Elaine, which leads to all sorts of romantic entanglements (just like the lady’s zippers!). The storyline develops the differing relationships with the various characters, each of whom brings their own style and personality to the respective roles.

The different scenes were effectively managed without a great deal of changing the scenery between the different locations and all the bedroom scenes took place with everything in place throughout the whole show. Even the hotel room and bar scenes were played out with all the props in place from the beginning of the show and very little movement of scenery was required.

As I have mentioned, the cast were all excellent. The titular role of Benjamin Braddock was played by local lad Tom Williams in his first show with NK and on this occasion, he didn’t have to do any singing. His parents were played by NK stalwart Terry Halliday and Tracey Parker, another debutant at the Forum. The other set of parents, the Robinsons, were played by Jenny Smith who did a good job portraying the flirtatious and seductive Mrs Robinson and another NK stalwart, Mike Lamont, playing her husband, who managed to convey all the malice and threats needed from his character. The Robinson’s daughter, Elaine, was admirably played by Emily Foy, who I remember being part of the cast of Ghost, the musical earlier this year. All the above mentioned were excellent in their roles, as were the other cast members who I have been unable to name but contributed well to the overall production.

The director made good use of the songs of Simon and Garfunkel for the background music, including The Sound of Silence (numerous times throughout the show), I am a Rock (which I don’t actually remember being on the original soundtrack although I have to admit it is one of my favourite Paul Simon songs) and of course Mrs Robinson itself. I did find that a lot of the humour from the original film was missing from this production, there were few laugh out loud moments this time. In spite of this, the show did flow well and overall was a good production.

The show runs until Saturday 15^th November and I think that tickets are still available for all shows. It is a good interpretation of a classic movie and is worth checking out.

Reviewer: David S Clarke

Reviewed: 13th November 2025

North West End UK Rating: