Some Mothers Do ‘Ave Em

Review by Marilyn Barber

It takes more than a little confidence and courage for a company either professional or amateur to stage a play based on a hit TV series as comparisons with the original stars are inevitable. 

However Wimborne Drama are never afraid to push boundaries and they set out on the premise that their Frank and Betty Spencer weren’t going to be an impersonation of Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice, but their own interpretation of the couple. The play was written for the stage and not lifted from the TV series.

Such is the expertise of the actors on stage, that by the end of the production, the original actors had slipped from my mind, and James Bourner had become Frank Spencer and Lindsay McGowan, his much put upon and very loyal wife, Betty.

Frank’s efforts to hone a magical act at his home, whilst covering up his disastrous DIY and trying to cook a meal for guests, leads to many moments of hilarity as he goes from one disaster to another with parts of the set crashing down and lights and music coming on at inappropriate moments.