Whitby Rebels review: Tudor Players delight with stupendously silly show
This is a show which you have to throw yourself into
Everything begins with S if you put the word stupid in front of it.
It is a motto which runs through the stupendously silly and deliciously delightful Whitby Rebels, performed by The Tudor Players. Laughs are guaranteed.
Shipmates, storms and a shockingly hotch-potch group of folk from Yorkshire ignore all advice - and laws - to sail to the Arctic. It is a madcap move by people, mostly strangers, who are totally unsuitable to steer a pleasure boat around the harbour let alone 3,000 miles across the world.
The stage of Sheffield Library Theatre is transformed into the bow - make sure you get your nautical references right - of great boat The Helga Maria.
I have to be honest, I don't remember this momentous national story of 1991 but I gradually fell in love with the fun and friendship of the crew throughout the evening.
What makes it more magical, and crazy, is that it is based on a true story.
This is a show which you have to throw yourself into, allow yourself to be swept away on the delightful absurdity of it all. How could anybody from Yorkshire do anything quite so daft? Well, indeed!
Why should we follow the ridiculous demands of a council when it comes to health and safety? Why not set out of the voyage of a lifetime that at times also comes perilously close to being a final trip?
Writer Bea Roberts creates plenty of giggles along the way but it is the cast of 12 who skilfully bring it all to life.
Edwina Gascoyne is delightful as Edna Whelan, a woman of a certain age who arguably has no place aboard but wins - almost - everyone's heart. Phil Gascoyne comes across wonderfully well as the very serious Captain Jack Lammiman - a man who some would follow to the end of the earth. Others, not quite.
The motley crew is completed by Justin Harrison as hapless Rev Paul Burkett, Ross Bannister as mysteriously manly Lewis Turnbull and Jan Ibberson as multi-talented Pat Stubbs.
Brilliant performances all round. The Tudor Players make sure every member of the audience left feeling that their spirits had been lifted and their hearts happy.
This city's amateur dramatics scene is alive and well. There are small armies of dedicated actors backed up with even more folk behind the scenes. Never forget, they dedicate hours and hours of time to entertain us while going full pelt at their daytime jobs and balancing family life.
All of us should appreciate these shows, not only because they work hard to make us smile but, simply, because they are fantastically fun.
The Whitby Rebels is on until Saturday. Tickets are £13 and £12 for concessions. You can pay more than that for one cocktail in this city - this production is worth every penny. Jump aboard with joy in your heart and you will not regret it.
- The Star would love to hear from all the city's amateur dramatics groups about their upcoming performances. Get in touch - [email protected]