Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em review

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em review at The Tyne Theatre and Opera House. Stephen Stokoe, theatrelover and attendee to the show kindly provided a review for us to share with you all. Read what he had to say below after seeing it last night.

Anyone who is familiar with this sitcom from the late 70’s will be enchanted by this stage adaptation and should definitely get along to see it. 

So what’s it about… well a very incompetent human at life in general called Frank Spencer touches the lives of everyone he comes into contact with and hilarity ensues – assuming very much you remain an observer. 

This production pays homage to the TV show in beautiful style and stars Joe Pasquale who is perfect to fill the very large boots of Michael Crawford in the role of Frank Spencer. He is endearing and annoying in equal measures and it is clear that he thoroughly enjoys the role he is playing. Sarah Earnshaw is a perfect fit as his long suffering wife, Betty and Susie Blake is exquisite as the over-sexed, alcoholic mother in law. The main characters are supported by James Patterson, Moray Treadwell and Ben Watson who play multiple roles seamlessly. 

The costumes are commensurate with what anyone would expect from seeing an episode of the TV programme and without giving anything away whatsoever, the set is visually brilliant in recreating The Spencers’ home in some detail. Frank’s trademark beret makes several appearances as indeed it should!

The story is essentially a farce around Frank losing his job – again –  and deciding that he wants to reinvent himself as a cabaret magician amid the backdrop of Betty learning that she has become pregnant and needing to inform her very distracted husband of this fact. Enter a somewhat flamboyant mother in law, a crew from the BBC and a local vicar and hilarity ensues from beginning to end. 

The audience at this opening night was somewhat sparce but at times I was taken aback by the raucous laughter that the action received. It was not distracting at all; it was a delight to hear and testament to the very well conceived and carefully developed script of writer and director, Guy Unsworth. 

The thing that made this sitcom famous back in the day, was the outrageous situations that Frank got himself into and the glorious stunts that Michael Crawford, the original Frank Spencer undertook himself. Naturally, there are limitations to the things that can be done on stage but for me this show does not disappoint on any account from the theme tune at the start to the rather delicious conclusion. 

Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em plays at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House from Thurs 19 – Sat 21 May 2022. Tickets are priced from £17.00 with other offers available and can be purchased at https://tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk/events/some-mothers-do-ave-em/ or from the Tyne Theatre and Opera House Box Office on 0191 243 1175.