The show must always go on…it is not quite law, but to the artist, be it actor, painter or musician, it is a loaded phrase that at some point seems to present itself fully and without warning. It can strike disaster, it can bring the house down with well-deserved applause from a grateful and highly delighted audience.

With one of the stars, the incomparable Helen Carter, having suffered an injury to a rib and with around 90 minutes to curtain, the highly successful and tremendously funny Christmas show, Scouse of the Antarctic, could have suffered a set-back which would have been upsetting for the huge crowd that had made their way to the Royal Court Theatre on a cold January night on one of the final evenings of the top rated Liverpool show.

It is testament to the Liverpool acting fraternity and to Lynne Francis especially, that she was able to fill in with outstanding endeavour at the very last minute for Ms. Carter.

It’s not easy stepping into a part that has been so well received for its comic timing over the last few weeks, and despite having only seen the performance twice, Ms. Francis donned the polar bear outfit, danced the signature piece of the play and kept Mickey Starke, Hayley Hampson, the outstanding Michael Ledwich and the other cast members on their toes throughout a very enjoyable and entertaining performance.

Despite reading from the book, Ms. Francis timing and delivery was spot on and it should be noted that Mr. Ledwich, as her Polar Bear husband, Jason, took great pains to shoulder the responsibility of the intricate movements for the much-loved “Bear-lero” scene.

Liverpool Sound and Vision congratulates whole-heartedly Ms. Francis, the entire cast of Scouse of the Antarctic and staff of the Royal Court for the rallying round and keeping a packed out theatre audience laughing throughout and wishes Ms. Carter all the very best and a very speedy recovery.

Ian D. Hall