There is a danger in putting on stage adaptations of much-loved and iconic classic television situation comedies. The end result can disappoint because any attempt to reproduce exactly the TV performances will result in mummified impersonations lacking creative development.

At the other extreme, allowing too much licence in interpretation can produce characters at odds with their original concept and the demands of the script.

Happily, in this well-balanced production there are no such disappointments. Having the original writers Clement and La Frenais provide a text that is a clever adaptation of two episodes from the small screen is a bonus. Their style and wit runs throughout the telling of the fixed boxing match and shenanigans involving a prison breakout.

The role of Norman Stanley Fletcher will always be overshadowed by the memory of Ronnie Barker, but Shaun Williamson’s version never gives cause for complaint. He subtly blends his personality with the essence of Barker’s creation. All the elements that make up Fletcher’s personality – crafty self-preservation allied with cheeky insubordination – are delivered in spades.

Daniel West makes an appealing Godber, Fletcher’s cell mate, while the rest of the excellent cast bring vividly to life all the other inmates and staff of Slade Prison.

But the performance that brings the house down comes from Nicholas Lumly as the warden, Mackay. It is a joy to watch him as he struts his military way around the stage with his jerky body movements and his strangulated vocal delivery – a comic gem.

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