Preview: EPT in Blackadder Goes Forth

EDINBURGH People's Theatre's cunning plan has come to fruition, as audiences at the Church Hill Theatre will discover next week, when they present their stage version of the classic BAFTA award-winning comedy Blackadder Goes Forth.

Edinburghs Peoples Theatre in Blackadder Goes Forth

Based on the TV series originally broadcast by the BBC in 1989, Blackadder Goes Forth was the fourth instalment of the popular saga following the Blackadder dynasty - this time seeing Captain Edmund Blackadder and his trusty sidekick, Baldrick, serving in the trenches during World War I.

Rarely performed on stage, EPT obtained permission from series creator, Richard Curtis, to produce three episodes of the cult show in return for a donation to Comic Relief.

Director Kirsty Boyle met the original TV series producer, John Lloyd, last year to discuss the production.

She says, “I was thrilled when EPT asked me to direct a production for them this year but when it came to choosing what show to do I was overwhelmed with ideas and the possibilities.

“A chance conversation with a friend, in which they asked if I had a cunning plan, gave me the idea and since then I’ve been extremely excited about putting on Blackadder Goes Forth in Edinburgh.

“Everyone I mention it to says they love the programme, which adds a fair bit of pressure to be producing such a fondly remembered and well-loved piece.

“I mean, who doesn’t still have that final scene when they go over the top in their mind?

“When I told John Lloyd of my fears he simply said, ‘Just go for it!’, so we have and I hope we can do it justice.”

Joined by dim-witted George and followed somewhat further behind by General Melchett and his own right-hand man, Captain Darling, the play sees the well-known characters manoeuvre their way through a series of cunning plans in an attempt to escape from No Man’s Land.

Boyle continues, “The cast are working hard to make sure the audience, enjoys the show they remember and to bring to life some of the iconic lines we all still recite now.”

Blackadder Goes Forth, Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, next Wednesday-Friday, 7.30pm, Saturday, 2.30pm, £12, 0333-666 3366