Review: The Lavender Hill Mob at the Everyman Theatre

IT was never going to easy to recreate a true gem of British cinema but Phil Porter’s stage version of T.E.B. Clarke’s classic 1951 tour de force certainly hits the spot.

For those of us who have never seen Alec Guinness’s Henry Holland as the hapless hero of the tale it is a true Ealing Comedy classic following the ill fated theft of gold bullion from London and the ensuing life Holland has built for himself in Rio De Janeiro.

Director Jeremy Sams has wrangled this star spangled cast into a wonderful performing unit using all their comedic and acting talents beautifully to produce a gently funny stage show which warms through both acts.

Justin Edwards was superb as Pendlebury and the role of Farrow played by Guy Burgess was suitably unassuming and brilliant.

The staging was clever – arousing the 1950s in all its glory and working well with the cast.

Miles Jupp as Holland is truly endearing and charming as the quiet man of London who sparks a global theft story with all the trappings of a 1950s bank worker. Alec Guinness would have been proud of Jupp for this performance.

The show isn’t laugh out loud every minute – it is more of a general feeling of cosy comedy in the best sense of the word and the audience in Cheltenham clearly enjoyed the spectacle.

If you like a gentle comedy and have fond memories of Ealing Comedies, The Lavender Hill Mob is the play for you. It is about to start a national tour and will surely bring back fond memories across the UK.