Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Laura Baldwin, Tobias Beer, Kit Benjamin, Adam C. Booth, Amy Booth-Steel, Jeni Bowden, Ricky Butt, Matt Harrop, Oliver Izod, Rachel Knowles, Lauren Logan, Rebecca Louis, Sally Mates, Joe Maxwell, Hayden Oakley, Anthony Ray, Kate Robson-Stuart.
Winston Churchill, the war-time leader of Great Britain, once exclaimed that to look a dog in the eyes was to see it acknowledge it saw its master, a cat would see its slave but to look a pig in the eyes, well the pig sees its equal…for Betty Blue Eyes, it’s doubtful you will ever see anything to equal this well written and superbly performed play again.
Originally filmed as A Private Function, this 21st Century look at life in a time when austerity in Britain drove people to certain extremes. The Second World War was over, new hope was in the air with the creation of the N.H.S. and yet the stench of hunger purveyed through every house in the country as the Government kept a tight rein on the food that was available for its people to eat. To many under a certain age, the word rationing means as little as Sunday closing or half day Wednesday but the thought of getting some proper food, the right type of protein down the throat was as needed as hope was during the darkest days of the war.
With a set that captured the image of a community at war with itself over the sort of back handed favours doled out, it seems only a mild mannered chiropodist and a pig could ever stand a chance in uniting the people of the Yorkshire town against the man from the Ministry.
Betty Blue Eyes not only has a great cast but some really fine songs attached to it which hot the mark over and over again. Songs such as Steal The Pig, the beauty of Magic Fingers, It’s An Ill Wind and the utterly tremendous Pig, No Pig which nearly bought the house down on its own as Amy Booth-Steel, Sally Mates and the spot on Hayden Oakley built up a terrific head of steam for its delivery, were so well received that it does make you wonder why more musicals are not bought into the Playhouse Theatre.
A special mention and applause must go to Ms. Lauren Logan, who notwithstanding the fact Betty Blue Eyes is her debut professional appearance of which handled the roller coaster ride supremely well, but also for her work with the puppet of which she had to learn from scratch for the part. To see somebody with such boundless enthusiasm for the stage, the mesmerising appeal in which she worked alongside the puppet and as well as dominating the dance routines that went along with ensemble songs, breaks and renews the heart with vigour. It can only be hoped that Ms. Logan grasps every opportunity to come.
Regardless of how well any company tackles a piece of work written by the Yorkshire master Alan Bennett, there can be times in which you wonder if he would have truly approved, for Betty Blue Eyes, you can only surmise he would have loved every minute of it.
To miss out on Betty Blue Eyes would not just be a travesty against theatre but completely ‘snout’ of order!
Ian D. Hall