"Goodnight Mr Tom" by Bingham Musical Theatre Company.

Bingham Arena.

It wasn't until a few months ago that i finally watched the film "Goodnight Mr Tom" starring John Thaw, and completely fell in love with it.

Set during the dark and dangerous build-up to the Second World War, "Goodnight Mister Tom" follows young William Beech, who is evacuated to the idyllic English countryside and builds a remarkable and moving friendship with elderly recluse Tom Oakley. All seems perfect until William is devastatingly summoned by his mother back to London......

Graham Buchanan plays Mr Tom. I have seen Graham perform as many characters from Shakespeare to Fawlty Towers, and every time he embodies the character he plays. Graham is a lot younger than Tom Oakley but he brings the physicality of an older man to the stage; physically in his slow paced and regulated movements as well as the noises the older man makes when getting up from sitting are all there - I know, I recognise them in myself!

After the physicality is matched, the emotions of a man who still fondly remembers his late wife and child, and in some scenes where you can hear his voice crack and Graham even has that faraway look in his eyes as the memory of Rachel Oakley is brought to Tom's mind. There's also that change in character that he brings. From the grumpy loner to a man who realises that something is missing in his life. That something is William Beech.

William Curtis plays William Beech.  What I realised about William Curtis was his ability to move through emotions. To start with I thought Mr C was a little nervous, but he wasn't because that introverted start was a perfect copy of what any evacuee of his age would be feeling, torn away from his mother and posted in the country with someone he had no idea of. You get a hint of his background with his mother when Tom takes a belt out of William's bag and William recoils in fear. When William B was teased out of his shell, and as the story unfolded, we came to realise why he was so introverted, and this was presented very well by William C.

When William B emerged from that shell, William C also blossomed, and by the end of the play, you could actually see a different, more confident William B. For an actor this young to be able to present a "journey" of that scale is a real talent. William C is no stranger to the stage but this big role is his first major character part for Bingham Musical Theatre Company.

This production is full of very talented young actors though.

Zach, another evacuee, who is positioned with Doctor Little, is played by Charlie Hourd, who appeared in the ensemble of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" for Nottingham Operatic Society at the Theatre Royal last year. Zach is a very confident character whose parents are actors, which has very clearly been passed down to Zach. This part has been cast perfectly as Charlie is a very confident character who also obviously has a great love for the stage. Charlie has been a member of the TV Workshop in Nottingham, and that really shows as he has that aura of knowing exactly what and who he is on stage, and how to be that character.

Director Emily Hudson has also utilised the fact that Charlie also has a really good voice and can perform choreography, because she has introduced a section, not in the film, where Zach sings "Let's Face The Music And Dance" with a choreographed routine including some of the other child actors in the cast, choreographed by Jen Reckless.  What surprised me was his jazzy feel for this song; he didn't do a straight copy of the song that Nat "King" Cole made famous, but sang, at times, behind the beat, in the way some of the big jazz and blues singers did. He looked confident with the choreography as well. When he sang "Wish Me Luck" acapella in the second act, he pulled at your heart strings. A smooth, natural and professional performer who also knows how to deliver comic sections of the script convincingly.

Ellen Loran as Mrs Beech. The film version of Mrs Beech is frightening enough but Ellen's version of this horrible mother really made me hate her - Mrs Beech, not Ellen Loran. When you feel such an emotive reaction towards a character, you know that the actor playing that person is good. It's like any soap character who you dislike on TV and read that the actor has been set upon by an old lady and her handbag, while that actor is out shopping, that you realise the power of a good character actor. Ellen made me want to buy a handbag!

Carrie, played by Annabelle Black, & Ginnie, played by Holly Loran, are twins who live locally in the village. Carrie is clever and loves amateur dramatics, literature and poetry. She longs to go to the grammar school, but they don’t accept girls. Ginnie is more outdoorsy and finds fun in building rafts and foraging for wild flowers. Both get sucked into George Fletcher’s schemes, especially when it comes to tormenting the new evacuees, or ‘Vacee Vermin’ as they brand them, complete with a horribly taunting rhyme.

Seb Ferrar makes his BMTC debut playing George, and while this is his BMTC debut, Seb has been busy over the past few years with several roles under his belt.

Simon Hawkins makes his BMTC debut as Doctor Little, Zach's ward, who Tom consults about William's initial issues. Maybe nerves took hold in his first scene as his projection didn't quite match that of Graham's but in Simon's scenes thereafter, I had no issues at all in hearing him.

Becky Morley is Mrs Fletcher, George's mother, who gets to scold him for his taunting of William at the start. Becky always pours everything into the characters she plays, and this gentle, kind and giving character is right up Becky's street.

Eloise Lowe is Mrs Hartridge, Willie's school teacher, who helps to build William's confidence inside school. This is Eloise's first play, but not the first time that I've seen Eloise on stage as I saw her in "The Sound Of Music" at the Nottingham Arts Theatre.

Sam Middleton plays Mr Hartridge, who is married to William's school teacher, as well as Mr Stelton who is involved in William's future after him ending back up in the hospital in the second act. I remember Sam from BMTC's panto "Beauty & the Beast", their last production, where he made his debut for, not only BMTC but is first taste of musical theatre.

Paul Green plays Mr Miller, a friend of Tom's.

Fran Bonner plays Miss Thorne, the librarian who welcomes William into the village, assisting him on his journey to learn to read and write by picking out suitable books to whet his literal longings.

The lovely Gill Cook plays Glad, a neighbour of Mrs Beech’s in London who makes it her business to know everything that is going on in the area. Glad loves a sing-song and takes it upon herself to brighten up the air-raid shelter with music.

Ben Bradley plays the Vicar, and surprisingly, this role is Ben's on stage debut for BMTC. Ben is also the Production Manager for this production.

Caroline Morley is The Warden, a bossy character, but I suppose in those times you had to stamp your authority, and this came across well.

Vicki Goodwin as Miss Miller and the Ticket Collector.

Mandy Simons doubles as the very stern Sister in the hospital, and a Londoner.

Jenny Branson also plays a Londoner

Anjali Pancholi, who is new to BMTC plays The Nurse who has to make sure that Tom vacates the hospital that William is in.

Emma Robinson is the Billeting Officer as well as the Policewoman. Emma is also the Musical Director for this production - more about that later.

Anthony Alldread is Charlie, and you really have to look closely for Anthony as his hat and costume really disguises him, so keep your eyes peeled.

Sammy, the dog, is a wonderful piece of puppetry, created by Philippa Buchanan especially for the play, and operated by Katie Lister, who I know had recently had a knee accident, but that didn't stop Katie from breathing life into Tom's faithful pet.

The ensemble consist of Ebony Bright, Scarlett Bright, Mia Davis, Jake Looms and Olivia Lowe, who makes her debut for BMTC. 

Directed by Emily Hudson, who makes her Directorial debut, and assisted by Alison Blackmore. There are so many emotions that this pair manage to bring out of the cast. Recreating a film like "Goodnight Mr Tom" on stage is not an easy ask, but by trimming out some parts and additions like the scene with Zach shows that Emily has good Directorial initiative.

Stage managed by Katie Brougham. There were times when the stage was illuminated but with no one on stage. Now I know that backstage of this theatre space is very limited and there are no suitable dressing rooms, and this is going to cause issues, and that is what I think may have been the issue for getting cast members to the stage in time. This job is no easy task, especially when young actors are involved, and I also know that Katie is no slouch when it comes to her backstage roles.

Musical Director, as mentioned earlier, is Emma Robinson. There are quite a few scene changes, and these are done in the dark, as the lighting is blacked out and covered by music from the era. Emma's work with Charlie Hourd's scenes were a real highlight for me, as well as the duet between Charlie and William in "Wish Me Luck".

Amanda Warriner's costumes were really evocative, creating that feel of "make do and mend" in the costumes for the cast, and also well created for the figures of authority, such as The Vicar, Wardens and medical staff. A bit of a legend locally for her costume design and creations.

There's also a lot of props involved in this production, ably managed by Props manager Karen Richards.

The set design is by Nik Hudson, and this design really hits you as soon as you walk into the auditorium. Created on two levels, the lower level provides almost every scene apart from the hospital and bedroom scenes with Willy, which is situated stage left and accessible via steps.

Sound is by Dom Mills, and I only have one little advisory note about one short (ish) section of the sound. When Willy goes back to his mother's place in Deptford, he discovers that he has a half sister who is a baby. Babies cry... a lot... but there was no distinguishing that the baby was crying behind a cupboard door as the volume was unmuffled and at the same level when the baby was recovered from the cupboard. I thought the volume was also just a bit louder than maybe it should be for the crying baby, as that slightly drowned out William's speech. Just a minor note and probably only something that I would notice. Apart from that, Dom delivered his usual professional sound operation.

Lighting is designed by Nick Elliott and operated by Nick and Jack Spores. A very effective design which ranged from the simple static lighting of most of the scenes, but also creating the horror of the bombings, bathing the stage in a blood red wash.

This is a big production, not only with the size of the cast and the age ranges, but because of the emotive story. It's a shame that it's only on for Friday and Saturday because with a bit more time tightening up the things I've mentioned, this show would be perfect. I know that the time any company has to get in, run through, especially the sound and light is less than any Director and crew would like to get things just the way they would like. That said, I really enjoyed this production, and I got to see some new faces on stage who really impressed me, as well as seeing actors who I've seen several times before, who never fail to impress me.

"Goodnight Mr Tom" is seen rarely on stage, so please take this opportunity to see this production while it's here. I'm so glad I did.

There are only two more performances for you to catch this wonderful play, Saturday 25 May matinee and evening, at Bingham Arena.