Hunters Hill Theatre, Australia’s longest running community theatre, is now in its 94th year. Their first show for the year is the classic farce BOEING BOEING (1960) written by Marc Camoletti with translation by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans. Many will know BOEING BOEING from its film adaptation (1965) starring Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and Thelma Ritter.
The promise made in Camoletti’s play is, like its characters, to have some fun, and to entertain, and this the show does resoundingly.
The scenario stars Bernard, a young guy who is living in a swish apartment in the city of romance, Paris. He is a real player, a genuine Lothario.
Bernard has a racket going on whereby he dates hostesses from some of the major airlines. He keeps a book by the phone in which he makes sure that their stays in Paris don’t clash.
Even more cunningly, he has each of his playmates, as he sees them, believe that he is engaged to them.
Bernard is a scoundrel who inevitably will come undone. The interest is in how it happens…
Chrissie McIntyre directs with a sure touch. She gets the actors to play big, but not too big.
The set has just the one location which is Bernard’s living room which is well laid out in a period set by Wayne Chee and has plenty of entrance/exit points which a farce requires, and also lights the stage well.
For farce to work, the cast have to be spot on in their timing, and the cast achieve this.
Perhaps Michael Mulveena could have looked more like Ryan Gosling (I’m watching the Oscar reply on the TV at the moment) but otherwise was fine as the smooth operator, Bernard.
Luke Baweja played the role of Bernard’s old friend Robert who makes an impromptu visit to Bernard’s apartment, and Bernard, being in a jovial mood, invites him to stay. It is little surprise that Robert soon wants a piece of the action.
Maggie Scott is terrific as Bernard’s world weary maid Bertha and she has her look just right. Bertha is a delightfully conflicted character; on one hand she can’t stand Bernard’s shenanigans, on the other hand, she is constantly tending to his requests and covering up for him. Bertha is a great role to play, and Scott makes the most of the opportunity.
The actresses playing the three flight stewards are all good; Cassandra Gorman as the grizzly German, Gretchen, Laura Steed as the brash, confident American, Gloria, and Gabrielle Rawlings is great as the very expressive, feisty Italiano, Gabriella.
My favourite scene is when Bertha arrives on stage with her suitcase by her side and announces that she has had enough and is going to leave. Bernard, knowing that he couldn’t cope without her, offers her a pay rise and a negotiation ensues.
The true test of a show is the response of the audience. At first, the audience were reserved and took a while to warm up but then the laughs started coming and at curtain call the cast received very warm applause.
Marc Camoletti’s BOEING BOEING, directed by Chrissie McIntrye, opened at the Theatre, Club Ryde on Friday 8th MARCH and is playing until Sunday 24th March 2024.