Rotherham Rep bringing 80s sitcom to the stage at the Civic

Devised as a parody of the BBC wartime drama 'Secret Army' and written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, ’Allo Allo’ focused on the life of René Artois the owner of a café in the town of Nouvion, during the German occupation of France in the Second World War.

The stage version follows the BBC television series, which ran for a decade from 1982, with Rene’s problems including a dishonest German officer, the local French Resistance, the handling of a stolen painting and a pair of trapped British airmen – all while concealing from his wife his affairs with his waitresses.

A spokesperson for Rotherham Rep said: “All the well-known characters will be there along with catchphrases such as Officer Crabtree's 'Good Moaning', Michelle Dubois' 'Listen very carefully – I shall say this only once’, and René's 'We will stick out like a carrot in an omelette.'”

The cast is led by Richard Wilshaw as René who most recently played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, the Rep’s last production.

Joining him as Edith, René's wife, is Karen Powell with Roger Green as Leclerc.

Established in 1926 the Rep present four plays each season at Rotherham Civic Theatre.

Highlights from last year included September's production Shafted – also starring Richard Wilshaw – which told the history of the thirty years after the 1984 miners’ strike through the lives of Yorkshire couple Harry and his wife Dot.

The amateur theatre group were even given a word or two of advice from the much-loved writer of their show – playwright John Godber – when he dropped by to offer his support to the cast as they prepared for their autumn show.

Allo’ Allo’ runs at Rotherham Civic Theatre from Tuesday, March 19 to Friday, March 22 with curtain up at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £9, with concessions at £7, and are available to buy from the box office on 01709 823621 or online at www.rotherhamtheatres.co.uk.