Originally published by L.S. Media. March 23rd 2010.

Cast: Shaun Williamson, Daniel West, Nicholas Lumley, John Conroy, Peter Alexander, Richard Syms, Claire Andreadis, Andrew Scott Butler, Jon De Ville, Jolana Lee, Mark Pearce, Barrett Robertson, Alex Tanner, Matt Weyland, Ryan Winston.

Not that long ago, a sitcom took the country by storm, not for its high brow wit, not for snappy one-liners but for the place and its subject matter. There are not that many writers who could make a comedy gold out of the idea of sending a man to prison and the prospect of dealing with the establishment (both in the form of the Prison Officers and the man who actually ran the prison, in this case, the genial Harry Grout).

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais made the comedy of Porridge work, not just through the way they wrote their scripts, (meticulous to the last) but with the one slice of luck that every comedy needs to succeed, its cast!

There is no doubting that Porridge worked because the men portrayed on screen had such talented actors in the roles. There surely can be nobody in the world that can look at the late, great Ronnie Barker and not smile. His effect and presence on screen was only increased by his relationship with Richard Beckinsale, who as the naive but good hearted Lenny Godber struck a chord with the British Public.

Now over thirty years later, the original writers and producer Ed O’ Driscoll have come up with a stage version which included some of the best and often quoted lines from the series.

The part of the “old lag” Norman Stanley Fletcher was played diligently by Shaun Williamson, (of East Enders fame) and although to try and fill the enormous shoes of Ronnie Barker is darn near impossible, Shaun did well to keep the focus on the situation, rather than on lack of original personnel.

From the medical where he is asked by the doctor if he has any illnesses, only to reply every time “Bad Feet”, to the heart-warming scene where he advises the young Godber “To bide his time” was all in the spirit of the original programme.

The only disappointing thing with all of these little snide remarks and classic looks was the unavoidable fact that the audience were unable to fully appreciate it, the stage just being a bit too large to truly convey the sense of claustrophobia that the prisoners must have felt.

The foil to Fletcher in the T.V series was provided by Prison Officer Mr Mackay, played on stage by Nicholas Lumley, who as a consummate professional, took every action and speech completely to heart and produced a performance worthy of the late Fulton Mackay.

The music that was played in between some scenes was inspired as songs from that period were interlaced with songs that fitted the situation the locked up men found themselves in. These included the very apt I Fought the Law (And the Law Won) by the Clash, Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy and the nod to the appropriate Time by Pink Floyd.

A play worth catching, even if only for the nostalgia it will provide but at the same time, needs to be on a smaller stage to capture the true essence of doing “Porridge”.

Ian D. Hall