A comedy/farce by Ray Cooney &
John Chapman

Directed by Don Cherrett

7th-12th December 2009 at 7.45pm

Synopsis:

This former West End farce is set in the London fur salon of Bodley, Bodley, and Crouch. Gilbert Bodley plans to sell an expensive mink to Harry McMichael cheaply for Harry’s wife, Janie, who Gilbert is planning an affair with. However, instead of doing his own dirty work, he gets his reluctant partner, Arnold Crouch, to close the sale for him. Things go awry when Harry plans to buy the mink for his OWN mistress and soon Gilbert’s whole plan goes ‘literally’ out of the window. The unexpected arrival of Gilbert’s wife, Maude, adds to the confusion of mistaken identities, scantily clad women kept hidden in closets and other misguided shoppers which all add a lot of fun to this fast paced comedy.

The Cast:

Review:

by Sarah Vandervelde

If anyone suggests you visit the elegant boutique of Bodley, Bodley and Crouch, the setting for Ray Cooney and John Chapman’s “Not Now Darling”, then you should think twice. However, no second thoughts are required when considering this latest production by Bournemouth Little Theatre Club.

With excellent performances leaving you breathless with the every move, the characterisations were second to none. Two of the owners of this West End fur company, Arnold Crouch (David Clements) and Gilbert Bodley (Brian Woolton) certainly had themselves tied up in knots at the hands of the brash, seductive Janie McMichael (Denise King) who at one point was bravely adorned by a few strategically placed tea towels.
A prim and proper Maude Bodley (Cathy Murray) managed to ensure her cheating husband got his just desserts, showing her true character to be far from the righteous person she would initially have you think.

Even the delightfully dizzy Miss Tipdale (exquisitely portrayed by Tess Hutton) managed to scoop her man.

Under the excellent direction of Don Cherrett, this production certainly had the audience laughing, watching all the antics unfold. With excellent performances from the rest of the cast, a superb set, sound and lighting effects, this proved to be a most entertaining evening.