Reviews

Scouts in Bondage

Enter a lost world where
men were men, boys were boys and boy scouts were – well, something else
altogether. In the tradition of Ripping Yarns, with a nod to
the double entendre world of I’m
Sorry I Haven’t a Clue

and the Carry
On
films, we
find ourselves in the company of four lads from the First Little Poddington
Scout Troupe. The boys are
on their way to British India for a jamboree with scouts from all over the
Empire when their plane is hijacked and crash lands in Afghanistan. From then
on it’s dastardly deeds meets scout ingenuity as they face and foil a plot that
threatens the stability of the British Raj.

Who’s who and where their loyalties lie is not
always clear but the plucky four succeed in their endeavours and learn more
than a few things about themselves; never more so than in the play’s final
revelations.

Set against a painted backdrop of the world in the
1930s, an image of an British Empire on which the sun never sets, director Terence
Barton
’s fast-paced piece is presented in a stiff upper lip style that perfectly parodies the
attitudes of the times.

We are led through the tale by the editor of the
Scout Magazine (superbly performed by Mark Farrally), for whom this story is
just one of a number of contributions. Farrally has great rapport with the
audience and delights in countering comments which he encourages in true stand-up
style.

The four lads’ unique personas make for
interesting pairings when they are separated after the crash: the ex-public
schoolboy wimp, Lance, sensitively played by Alastair Mavor, has to cope with Dick, the team
leader, played as an awkward, power-mad bully by Christopher Birks. Chris Finn‘s Donald Pretty is a classic
little boy, an obsessive fantasist who dreams of fighting battles in the air
against the Red Baron. After the crash he ends up with Henry Schmit (played
with great strength and understanding by Brage Bang), who provides food for
thought when he compares the scouts to the Hitler Youth.

Whilst Glenn Chandler‘s script is a little uneven some
great moments of tension and comedy are to be found in the many characters
portrayed by Tim Welling: scout master, British military attaché, Afghan warrior and Russian
soldier, each is a little gem and makes Scouts in Bondage worth a visit.

– Dave Jordan