AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: Mr. Benn, The Musical - Squad House, Stockport.

Stage Squad can be described as one of Stockport’s best-kept secrets. They have their own well-equipped cabaret-style theatre tucked away within the great Pear Mill (located near the Portwood roundabout turn-off on the M60) and produce fresh, new material every year. A Stage Squad show is always a large ensemble but the target audience varies from children to strictly adults only.

Mr Benn, The Musical was at face value, children’s TV characters given an ‘adult take’, but that was just the hook. The real essence of the show was paying lovingly irreverent homage to 1970’s children’s television kitsch and glam rock music from the same era (with a nod to one or two adult shows thrown in). This was an ‘adult show' in more ways than one because aside from the ribald humour, you had to be of a certain age to remember any of the characters depicted. Of course, there are TV repeats and '70’s music is still played, but the show harks back to the age of only three TV channels and when pop music was largely governed by a single TV programme (Top Of The Pops). You have to have been there to appreciate the massive influence of these shows on the music at the time.

The show got off to a good start with the original Mr Benn theme tune and staying close to the original format of a narrator describing Mr Benn’s actions and his inevitable visit to the costume shop, from where he finds himself propelled into fantasy adventures. Even within the context of the show, it was a bit hard to adjust to Mr Been swearing because this distanced himself from the original character. However, the ripe language of the familiar villains in the ‘Flash Gordon/Star Wars’ adventure worked well, with great costumes and funny, authentic spoofs. Curiously though, the homage to the 'Top Of The Pops' dance group Pan’s People, dispensed the bikini-style outfits for which the group was best known (all the dancers wore trouser suits).

Soon after arriving in the world of ‘Minge’ the Merciless, Mr Benn seemed to disappear with Darth Vader driving the action. It was only near the interval we were reminded that there was actually still a Mr Benn story. There was a constant flow of jokes although the pace varied, with the ‘Death Star’ scene a little too long. However, the audience stayed with the show from the outset and it did not seem to matter whether people actually knew anything about Mr Benn in order to find the show funny; the laughter was more or less constant throughout the entire show.

The second half of the show was much more consistent in pace with Mr Benn finding himself in The Police (courtesy of ‘Life On Mars’) and then unexpectedly in Grace Brothers department store, combining interactions with characters from TV's ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Scooby Doo’. Quite daringly, among several other well-known '70s hits sung throughout the show, Act Two included a complete rendition of a Gary Glitter song; where else are you likely to hear one of those these days? There was a suitable grandiose finale with all the cast on stage singing prior to Mr Benn, in the true spirit of the original TV series, finding himself alone at home with his cat and his memories.

Mr Benn The Musical was a very funny show and a showcase for the ensemble who played a total of 40 different characters as well as providing a dance troupe. The show was also a pleasant trip down memory lane, or perhaps a nice mix of 1970’s TV and musical nostalgia for those who weren’t there at the time.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 10.6.22