''Dad's Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain's Finest Hour'' was a 1975 stage adaptation of the BBC sitcom ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

''. Following the success of the television programme, the stage show was commissioned by

Bernard Delfont Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russia ...

in the spring of 1975.

Jimmy Perry James Perry, (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016)Simon Morgan-Russell, "Perry, James (Jimmy) (1923–2016)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 202available online Retrieved 25 August 2020. was an Engli ...

and David Croft adapted material from the original scripts, making changes to allow for the absence of location filming. The show was in the style of a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

, with songs, familiar scenes from the show, and individual turns for cast members. It was produced by Roger Redfarn, who shared the same agent as the writers.

Cast

Jeffrey Holland, who would frequently collaborate with Croft in the future, portrayed multiple roles whereas Richard Matthews was cast as the only 2 female roles in the 2007 tour. Croft was particularly pleased with the casting of Jack Haig as Lcpl. Jack Jones as Haig was Croft's 1st choice for the role when they cast the television series.

Dates

The show opened at the Forum Theatre,

Billingham Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed i ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

on 4 September 1975 for a two-week try out. A local critic wrote of the event:

"The special bond of affection between cast and audience helped each item spark along" - ''Kevin Eason''

After cuts and revisions, the show transferred to London's West End and opened at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was ...

on 2 October 1975. On the opening night there was a surprise appearance by

Chesney Allen William Ernest Chesney Allen (5 April 1894 – 13 November 1982) was a popular English entertainer of the Second World War period. He is best remembered for his double act with Bud Flanagan, Flanagan and Allen. Life and career Allen was bo ...

, singing the old

Flanagan and Allen Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie Ford ...

song ''Hometown'' with Arthur Lowe. The show ran in the West End from 4 October to 21 February 1976, where it was disrupted twice by bomb scares, and then toured the country until 4 September 1976. The stage show was later revived, billed as ''Dad’s Army—The Musical'', and toured Australia and New Zealand in 2004–2005, starring Jon English.

1976 UK tour dates

Running order

Act One

* ''Scene 1'' Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler? * ''Scene 2'' Put that light out * ''Scene 3'' When can I have a banana again? * ''Scene 4'' Command Post * ''Scene 5'' Private Pike's Dream * ''Scene 6'' Cliff top: Lance Corporal Jones stands guard * ''Scene 7'' Battle of Britain * ''Scene 8'' Choir practice

Act Two

* ''Scene 9'' The song that we would rather forget * ''Scene 10'' Unarmed combat * ''Scene 11'' Tinpan alley * ''Scene 12'' Morris Dance * ''Scene 13'' A Nightingale sang in Berkley Square * ''Scene 14'' Radio personalities of the 40s * ''Scene 15'' The beach * ''Scene 16'' Finale

New stage show

In April 2007 a new ''Dad's Army'' stage show was announced. It featured two

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

episodes ("

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Walker" is a missing episode in the British comedy series ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on 15 March 1969. One of the three missing ''Dad's Army'' episodes, only a few short clips and screensh ...

" and "

A Stripe for Frazer "A Stripe for Frazer" is a missing episode of the British television comedy series '' Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on 29 March 1969. Of the three missing ''Dad's Army'' episodes (all from the second series) it is the only one to ...

") combined with two additional episodes " Room at the Bottom" (of which only a black-and-white version existed until December 2008) and "

The Deadly Attachment "The Deadly Attachment" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on Wednesday 31 October 1973. It has become one of the best known episodes of the series due to the ra ...

". A sequel to the 2007 stage show was announced in December 2009 with the tour starting the following year. It features the same cast as the 2007 show, but has different episodes, including "Branded" and "Mum's Army".

References

Bibliography

* Croft,D & Perry,J, ''Dad's Army: the lost episodes''. London: Virgin, 1998 * Pritchard,T: Stonehouse, ''Dad's Army- an appreciation''. Dad's Army Appreciation Society, 2004 * Webber,R, ''Complete A-Z of Dad's Army''. London Orion 2000 {{Dad's Army Dad's Army 1975 plays 1975 musicals