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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Blackadder -- a farcical romp through history

Bermuda this week before a full house at the Daylesford Theatre.Shame if you don't have a ticket for the sell-out performance, which starts tonight and runs until Saturday, is set to be a huge hit.

Bermuda this week before a full house at the Daylesford Theatre.

Shame if you don't have a ticket for the sell-out performance, which starts tonight and runs until Saturday, is set to be a huge hit.

The team at The Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society (BMDS) have really done the television show proud, with three wonderful episodes that will have everyone in stitches.

Taking the enormously successful series -- based on British aristocracy during the Elizabethan, Regency and First World War periods -- off the screen and putting it on stage can't have been easy.

With such a superb team of TV actors to live up to, such as Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Lawrie and Tony Robinson, the performers at BMDS had a lot of work to do.

However, they have obviously done their homework. In the most part, the accents were spot on, the delivery of the lines perfect, and the costumes impressive -- and last night's show was just the dress rehearsal. To make the production a bit more interesting, the cast swapped roles for each of the three episodes, apart from Baldrick, who was played by Peter Havlicek throughout.

He played the lowly servant off to a tee, with an uncanny accent, perfect mannerisms, and superb delivery. At times, he almost was Tony Robinson himself. It's no wonder nobody else attempted the role. He probably couldn't have been bettered.

He shares the award for star of the show with Robbie Godfrey, who was excellent in each of his roles throughout the three performances.

He was the best Blackadder, again, with an uncanny accent, great impersonations and wit.

But his performance as Percy deserves praise, as does his General Melchett during the trench scenes in the final of the three acts.

Another name to give special mention to is Tim Taylor, who was a splendid Blackadder in the first act and then drag queen when he came on as George in the third episode.

Jacqui Draycott did well also to mimic Queenie, as did Denise Astwood in one of her many roles as the wise woman.

There were no real disasters, but the only notable weakness in the whole show was the third Edmund Blackadder.

John Thomson had a hard act to follow, but he didn't quite manage to pull off the character as well as he might.

There was absolutely no likeness in voice or accent, just an English one, and the mannerisms were not as sharp, practised and crisp as they should have been.

In fact, if he had not been answering to the name Blackadder it would have been difficult to identify who he was playing. Perhaps, the part just needs a bit more exaggeration.

There are too many names to mention them all, but the entire cast did extremely well to bring the show alive. It was a laugh a minute.

If you are fortunate enough to have a ticket, lucky you. If not, better luck next time.

Well done to director Barbara Jones and producer Steve Watts. Writers of the series Richard Curtis and Ben Elton would not be disappointed.

Blackadder will play at the Daylesford Theatre in Dundonald Street, Hamilton, at 8 p.m. from tonight until Saturday.

KAREN SMITH THEATRE THR REVIEW REV