'When You're Smiling'

What brings Alec and Dave to spend their lunch-break in a funeral parlour?

Who is the deceased, and how does his wife fit into all this?

What is there to smile about?

In 2008, actors George Titley, John Churnside and Ted Taylor worked with GlovesOff in this black comedy by poet and playwright, the late Raymond Hartshorne. The play was staged at the Didsbury Studio Theatre and at the Old Clubhouse, for the Buxton Fringe.

BLACK COMEDY PUTS THE FUN INTO FUNERAL PARLOUR

YOU can find fun in a funeral parlour, especially when a couple of old pals come apparently to peer at their mate in the coffin before the lid finally goes on.

This is the setting for a black comedy by the late Raymond Hartshorne, former caretaker of Glossop Town Hall.

Fittingly, When You’re Smiling was premiered at the Old Clubhouse - and the deceased, Joe, was a leading light down at the club frequented by him and his mates, Alec and Dave.

They come from the factory in their lunch hour – and they come suitably equipped for the farewell, with half a bottle of whisky and sausage sarnies, using the coffin as a picnic table. They even wet Joe’s lips with a few drops of the hard stuff, disturbing his make-up, much to the dismay of the attentive undertaker, primly played by George Titley.

The lugubriously comic pair, splendidly portrayed by John Churnside and Ted Taylor like a music-hall duo, reminisce about their old pal.

Then his put-upon widow, outrageously overplayed by Fringe award-winner Patricia Hartshorne, the real widow of the author, turns up to tell some home truths, inclding Joe’s handling of the club’s coffers – and his liking for women, including Alec and Dave’s wives.

Essentially, this is an extended gentle sketch, brought to life (ha-ha!) by Alec and Dave. By the time they’ve finished, even Joe has a smile on his face apparently. The lid goes on, as Dean Martin croons the title song.

Philip Radcliffe     Manchester Evening News   21/ 7/2008

 

What brings Alec and Dave to spend their lunch-break in a funeral parlour? Who is the deceased, and how does his wife fit into all this? What is there to smile about?

In Raymond Hartshorne’s black comedy the main character is centre-stage throughout, although he never actually says a word - he’s lying dead in a coffin.

 Death is no discouragement to Alec and Dave, who are determined to give their old mate a good send-off right under the nose of the disapproving undertaker.  But then the not-so-grieving widow turns up, and rose-tinted reminiscences become bitter recriminations.

 Looking like a proletarian Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee in their matching blue boiler suits, Alec (John Churnside) and Dave (Ted Taylor) are in the long tradition of northern comic double-acts.  John Churnside in particular brings to mind the great music hall comedians of yore with his peerless timing and delivery.

 Patricia Hartshorne’s cameo as the bile-spitting widow Hilda is straight out of a McGill postcard, while George Titley’s height and gawkiness lend a Hulot-esque quality to the lugubrious funeral director.

 Using minimal props, the claustrophobic funeral parlour atmosphere is cleverly evoked through lighting and sound (Michael Elphick).  

 Although the script was originally written for radio, it’s hard to believe that this play belongs anywhere other than on stage.  Dave and Alec’s impromptu lunch is almost slapstick, and there are lovely little touches like the undertaker proudly taking out his hankie to give the corpse a final polish.

Gloves Off Productions have resurrected a marvellous ensemble piece, which you can catch at Buxton Fringe Festival this week. 

Caroline May     UK Theatre Network