Passport to Pimlico – South West Fest

The full ensemble of Passport to Pimlico, led by Martin Johnston

Passport to Pimlico was performed as part of this year’s South West Fest, held in south west London.

There’s a moment in the classic Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico when it looks as though the feisty Pimlico Burgundians might have to surrender their claim to interdependence. The reason? A freak heatwave, which leaves them powerless and thirsty when Home Office officials cut off their water supply.

Fitting then, that the first of only two performances of Grass Roots Productions’ brilliant promenade musical of the classic British movie should take place on the hottest day of the year. Indeed, the blistering heat added a final touch of realism to this innovative piece of interactive theatre.

For those unfamiliar with the story, it goes something like this: when an unexploded Second World War bomb is accidentally detonated by local school children, it reveals buried treasure and a diktat pronouncing Pimlico to be part of the ancient Duchy of Burgundy. In an effort to retain their treasure (and their new identity), the people of Pimlico declare interdependence with the UK, claiming their right to be Burgundian. It’s a move that leads to conflict with the Home Office, and leaves Pimlico’s residents cut off from the rest of the country.

Released in 1949, Passport to Pimlico starred Stanley Holloway, Hermoine Baddeley and Margaert Rutherford, and is arguably the best of the Ealing comedies. Adapting it for stage, let alone an outdoor musical, is certainly not for the faint-hearted, but Grass Roots rises to the challenge spectacularly.

With an ensemble cast that boasts not one weak link, and a production team that co-ordinates the afternoon with military precision, they achieve the impossible.

Starting in Pimlico’s Peabody Avenue, an award-winning housing development built, appropriately enough, on an old Blitz bomb site, cast and audience mingle. However, before long, the audience find themselves eavesdropping on the conversations of locals as the story begins to unfold. Shepherding them from location to location – front doors of houses to a playground doubling as the bomb crater – the cast sets the scene.

Already, this is immersive theatre at its best. Indeed, by the time audience members are asked to board a vintage Routemaster bound for the inquest into the treasure, they are no longer spectators but fully fledged Burgundians, ready to join in with the odd singalong and even a dance routine – wittily choreographed by Darragh O’Leary and expertly taught by Samuel Parker, whose infectious hyper-activity is a joy to behold.

Parker, as PC Ted Spiller, gives just one of a number of stand-out performances. Martin Johnston, as Arthur Pemberton, does the impossible by making the Holloway role his own, effortlessly engaging audience members en route without ever dropping his character.

Similarly, Katherine Moraz, as Edie Randell (the role originally played by Baddeley), is endearing and cheekily knowing, while her improvisational skills are simply flawless. However, it is tenor Peter Caulfield, as bank manager Mr Wix, who keeps the production moving along as the temperature soars, breathing real emotion into his solo numbers.

A testament to the beauty of Graham Whitlock’s wittily concise book must surely be that scenes from the film which, for logistical reasons, are missing, go unnoticed. Kate Golledge’s pacey direction also keeps the action flowing while allowing the ensemble the chance to explore their characters in fine detail.

Musical director Chris Whitehead brings Alan Berlyn’s lively score to life with the help of an 11-piece band – never underestimate the feat of moving such a beast from location to location.

The highlight of this year’s South West Fest, it is perhaps most telling however, that despite the Mediterranean conditions and an epic running time of four hours, Passport to Pimlico held its audience entranced throughout.

Liam Rudden

Arts and Entertainment Editor, Edinburgh Evening News