Dad's Army (Stage Show)
Encyclopedia
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
. Following the success of the television programme, the stage show was commissioned by Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont , born Boris Winogradsky, was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario....
in the spring of 1975.
Jimmy Perry
Jimmy Perry
Jimmy Perry OBE is an English writer, scriptwriter, producer, author and actor, most famous for devising and co-writing the BBC sitcoms Dad's Army with David Croft.-Education:...
and David Croft adapted material from the original scripts, making changes to allow for the absence of location filming. The show was in the style of a revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
, with songs, familiar scenes from the show, and individual turns for cast members. It was produced by Roger Redfarn, who shared the same agent as the writers.
Cast
Most of the principal Dad's Army cast transferred with it, with the exception of John LaurieJohn Laurie
John Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...
who was replaced by Hamish Roughead. Following James Beck
James Beck
Stanley James Carroll Beck was a British actor best remembered for his role as Private Joe Walker, the cockney spiv in the popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army. The cast was mainly composed of older actors, but Beck was one of the younger members.-Early life:Beck was born in Islington, North London and...
’s death two years earlier, Walker was played by John Bardon
John Bardon
John Bardon, is an English stage and screen actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1988 as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate, sharing the award with co-star Emil Wolk.-Acting career:Bardon is best known for playing Jim Branning in the popular British soap opera EastEnders...
. Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...
was replaced for half the tour by Jack Haig
Jack Haig
Jack Haig was a British actor who specialised in supporting roles, mainly in TV comedy.Haig was the son of music hall actors Bertha Baker and Charles Coppin, whose act went under the name "Haig and Esco". He was seen in a long list of British TV favourites: Hugh and I, Dad's Army, Are You Being...
(David Croft’s original first choice for the role of Corporal Jones on television). Jeffrey Holland
Jeffrey Holland
Jeffrey Holland is an English actor well known for roles in television sitcoms, as well as BBC Radio comedy, including Week Ending.-Early life and career:...
, who went on to star in several later Croft sitcoms, also had a number of roles in the production.
Dates
The show opened at the Forum Theatre, BillinghamBillingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
, County Durham on Thursday 4 September 1975 for a two-week tryout. A local critic wrote of the event:
"The special bond of affection between cast and audience helped each item spark along" Kevin Eason
After cuts and revisions, the show transferred to London’s West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre
Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...
on 2 October 1975. On the opening night there was a surprise appearance by Chesney Allen
Chesney Allen
Chesney Allen was a popular English entertainer of the Second World War period. He is best remembered as part of the double act with Bud Flanagan, Flanagan and Allen.-Life and career:...
, singing the old Flanagan and Allen
Flanagan and Allen
Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act popular during World War II. Its members were Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen...
song Hometown with Arthur Lowe.
The show ran in the West End from 4 October to 21 February, 1976, where it was disrupted twice by bomb scares, and then toured the country until 4 September 1976. The stage show was later revived, billed as Dad’s Army—The Musical, and toured Australia and New Zealand in 2004-2005, starring Jon English
Jon English
Jonathan James "Jon" English is an Australian rock singer, musician, actor and writer. English emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1961...
.
1976 UK tour dates
| Venue | City | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opera House Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction with Whitworth... |
Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
Tuesday 23 March, 1976 | Saturday 10 April, 1976 |
| Theatre Royal Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal, Nottingham in Nottingham, England, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. The theatre is in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council... |
Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
Monday 12 April, 1976 | Saturday 1 May, 1976 |
| Bradford Alhambra Bradford Alhambra The Bradford Alhambra is a theatre in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for theatre impresario Francis Laidler, and opened on Wednesday 18 March 1914. In 1964 Bradford City Council bought the Alhambra for £78,900. In 1974 it was designated a Grade II... |
Bradford Bradford Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897... |
Monday 3 May, 1976 | Saturday 15 May, 1976 |
| Hippodrome Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End... |
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
Monday 17 May, 1976 | Saturday 22 May, 1976 |
| Pavilion Theatre Pavilion Theatre (Bournemouth) The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom. located in the Westover Road in Bournemouth, is a venue for year round entertainment. Built in the 1920s, it retains its splendour and elegant styling and is Bournemouth's regular home for West End stage shows, Opera, Ballet, Pantomime and Comedy as well as for... |
Bournemouth Bournemouth Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth... |
Monday 24 May 1976 | Saturday 5 June, 1976 |
| Winter Gardens Winter Gardens, Blackpool The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in the town centre of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It has twelve different venues, including a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, incorporating various elements built between 1875 and... |
Blackpool Blackpool Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester... |
Monday 7 June, 1976 | Saturday 19 June, 1976 |
| Theatre Royal Theatre Royal, Newcastle The Theatre Royal is a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the centre of Newcastle, and was opened on 20 February 1837 with a performance of The Merchant... |
Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne... |
Monday 22 June 1976 | Saturday 3 July, 1976 |
| Richmond Theatre Richmond Theatre The present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of As You Like It, and is one of the finest surviving examples of the work of theatre... |
Richmond upon Thames London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:... |
Monday 12 July, 1976 | Saturday 24 July, 1976 |
| Theatre Royal Theatre Royal, Brighton The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England, United Kingdom presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet and a Christmas pantomime.-History:... |
Brighton Brighton Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain... |
Monday 26 July, 1976 | Saturday 21st August, 1976 |
| Theatre Royal Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, is over 200 years old. It is one of the more important theatres in the United Kingdom outside London, with capacity for an audience of around 900.... |
Bath | Monday 23 August, 1976 | Saturday 4 September 1976 |
Act One
- Scene 1 Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?
- Scene 2 Put that light out
- Scene 3 When can I have a banana again?
- Scene 4 Command Post
- Scene 5 Private Pike's Dream
- Scene 6 Cliff top: Lance Corporal Jones stands guard
- Scene 7 Battle of Britain
- Scene 8 Choir practice
Interval
Act Two
- Scene 9 The song that we would rather forget
- Scene 10 Unarmed combat
- Scene 11 Tinpan alley
- Scene 12 Morris Dance
- Scene 13 A Nightingale sang in Berkley Square
- Scene 14 Radio personalities of the 40s
- Scene 15 The beach
- Scene 16 Finale
2007 stage show
In April 2007 a new Dad's Army stage show was announced, starring former EastendersEastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
actor Leslie Grantham
Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. He is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal...
as Walker
Private Joe Walker
Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv and Home Guard platoon member portrayed by actor James Beck on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. James Beck died suddenly in 1973, and is featured in just under three-quarters of the episodes...
and Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
's Peter Martin
Peter Martin (actor)
Peter Martin is an English actor who was known in the 1980s for his TV commercials for Jewsons Hardware. He played the fish shop man in First of the Summer Wine. He also played 'Charlie the moonlighting gravedigger' in the Beiderbecke Tapes...
as Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring is the bank manager and Home Guard platoon commander portrayed by Arthur Lowe on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army, set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War...
. Martin was subsequently replaced by Tim Kightley. The production ran from September 2007 until June 2008 and also featured David Warwick
David Warwick
David Warwick is a British stage and television actor known for his recurring role in the BBC television sitcom, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, and for his theatre work, most notably with the writer and director Ray Cooney....
(Sergeant Wilson), Richard Tate (Corporal Jones) and Tom Richardson (Private Pike). Unusually, the producers Calibre Productions cast Richard Matthews in the role of the only two women in the show. It features two lost
Dad's Army missing episodes
Dad's Army missing episodes usually refers to the three lost episodes of the black-and-white second series of the British sitcom television programme Dad's Army. The whole second series of the sitcom was affected by wiping, although two episodes were recovered in 2001...
episodes (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker
-Notes:Graham Stark replaced James Beck in the role of Private Walker for this radio adaptation.-External links:...
and A Stripe for Frazer
A Stripe for Frazer
"A Stripe for Frazer" is an episode in the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Saturday 29 March 1969.This episode is currently missing from the BBC's television archives after they wiped the tapes to reuse them. This is one of three Dad's Army episodes still missing...
) combined with two additional episodes Room at the Bottom
Room at the Bottom
-Synopsis:Room at the Bottom is the 17th adapted radio episode of Dad's Army. The synopsis remains virtually unchanged from the TV episode, although there are a few minor changes in terms of actions performed by certain characters.-Plot:...
(of which only a black-and-white version existed until December 2008) and the famous episode The Deadly Attachment
The Deadly Attachment
"The Deadly Attachment" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army which was originally transmitted on Wednesday 31 October 1973...
.