“If it looks as though we’re trying, we’re not trying hard enough.”

Harry Biscuit, Pip Bin’s great friend from St Bastard’s, has a great deal to live up to. His father invented the biscuit, and Harry is determined to follow in the great man’s footsteps by becoming an inventor himself. One of the many running gags throughout the play is his unwavering belief that swans can be trained to solve almost any problem. In many ways, the swan is the perfect metaphor for this fabulous production of Bleak Expectations, superbly directed by Paul Morton. On the surface, everything appears effortless, but underneath lies a tremendous amount of hard work and coordination.

There is so much happening both on and off the stage in creating this wonderfully choreographed mayhem that Paul was absolutely right to acknowledge [in the curtain call] the members of the creative team whom the audience never sees. How the cast managed their numerous costume changes in temperatures that had audience members vigorously fanning themselves throughout the performance remains something of a mystery. One assumes there were plenty of sprays, towels, and helping hands backstage, but every entrance appeared as if the actor had only ever played that single character. A huge shout-out must go to Shelagh Maughan and Loretta Freeman for dressing the cast so fabulously. I particularly enjoyed Andy Kirtley’s transformations into the various Hardthrasher siblings.

The cast moved the deceptively simple set on and off stage to transport us from the happy home of the Bin family to St Bastard’s School, where Pip is sent by his guardian, and from the grimy streets of London to a courtroom, the Church of St Repentant, and countless locations in between. Somehow it all worked. The audience was able to suspend (dis)belief as the action raced frenetically, yet seamlessly, around the country.

Bleak Expectations is not a traditional play with neatly defined acts and a straightforward beginning, middle and end. In more conventional productions, the audience can become absorbed in the story and forgive the occasional lapse in pace or direction. This play offers no such luxury. Every member of the cast must be at the top of their game, the direction must be crystal clear, and every joke must be timed to perfection. The script itself presents challenges: Dickensian language is interspersed with modern idioms; running gags must be carefully established and maintained; disguises must be simultaneously convincing and obviously ridiculous. The audience should never be left wondering whether they are seeing an actor taking on another role or a character disguising themselves as someone else. Somehow, this company managed all of it with remarkable assurance.

Des Turner, playing Sir Philip Bin, had the important task of storyteller and narrative anchor. He needed to establish confidence from the opening moments and reassure the audience that they were in safe hands. His rich bass voice certainly helped set the tone for the evening, allowing the audience to relax (as much as the temperature allowed) and enjoy the ride. One particularly memorable comic moment came when Sir Philip was unceremoniously ejected from his chair by the judge. I suspect Des was secretly grateful for the opportunity to grab a quick drink of water!

Andy Kirtley took on the Hardthrasher siblings with tremendous gusto. His headmaster seemed like the unfortunate offspring of Mr Bumble and Thomas Gradgrind, delivering comic cruelty without ever tipping totally into caricature. Meanwhile, his portrayal of the Hardthrasher sister was an audience favourite, earning some of the biggest laughs of the evening.

We were introduced to the Bin family immediately, and what a cheerful family they seemed to be. Pip, played by Gracie Kane, is the eldest of the three children and carries the responsibility of protecting the family. As the central character, Pip must often play the straight man amid the surrounding madness, and Gracie delivered a notably mature performance. There were many lovely moments throughout, and she deserves praise for her ability to vary both pace and delivery. Additional humour came from her portrayal of a boy struggling to become a man and do suitably manly things.

Pippa Bin, played by Kyriana Georgiou Delisle, is a character far ahead of her time. Another recurring joke sees her demanding rights and equality in areas that modern audiences take for granted but would have been considered absurd in Dickensian England. Kyriana handled the role extremely well, finding plenty of humour within what could otherwise have been a rather strait-laced character.
Jo Manser played the youngest sibling, Poppy, before delighting the audience as Pip’s love interest, Ripely Fecund. The increasingly risqué letter-writing scenes grew ever closer to the knuckle and were executed wonderfully. The cast’s physical reactions and facial expressions to the suggestive comments had the audience in hysterics.

Lorna Thompson began her descent into madness in the second scene as the widowed Mrs Bin and reappeared in a succession of increasingly eccentric guises as her condition became ever more pronounced. She deserves particular credit for handling the iron with such professionalism, especially as we are led to believe this was the first time she had ever held such a household object. Her Flora was beautifully costumed, and we almost felt sorry for her when she finally keeled over and died.

Bakewell Havertwitch was played with great effect by Cameron Marklew, whose performance added yet another layer of comic invention to an evening overflowing with absurdity, energy, and laughter. Once again, a delightful voice, and his characterisation of both the French baker and the Abel Magwitch- esque convict was a pleasure to watch. William Barnes, the youngest member of the cast, appeared to have his very own fan base in the audience the night I came, and he didn’t disappoint them. He played the hapless Harry Biscuit, and the scenes of repressed male emotions with Pip were a hoot.

The baddie of the piece was Gently Benevolent, who decisively put paid to the theory of nominative determinism, and her portrayal was a deliciously dastardly delight. Janey Foster, in her first show at CoPs, was wonderfully malevolent and her asides to the audience were hilarious yet never overdone. Her in-character disguises as the doddery old vicar and the American Mr Trash Can went down a storm. The kissing of the bride scene was particularly funny, when genders were totally confused but Trash Can confessed to rather liking his experience.

Overall, this is a madcap play that has so many traps for the ill-prepared cast and crew. Paul and his cast and creatives fell into none of these and delivered a production of high quality from start to finish. A great evening of fun for both the cast and audience. Bravissimo!!