Review: Spring and Port Wine, Octagon Bolton

Bill Naughton’s classic comedy about the Crompton family has the imprint of the town and the north in general stamped through it like a stick of rock.

And yet, it is also a play of universal themes. Sure there are local references, good old northern accents and sayings which would have southerners reaching for a dictionary (or Google these days).

But 57 years after it was first performed at the Octagon, it remains fresh, relevant, funny and surprisingly moving.

Set in 1966, the wonderfully flexible space that is the Octagon takes the audience into the Crompton’s front room. Katie Scott’s set design is period correct and wonderfully nostalgic complete with portable record player, stuffed turtle pouffe and coffee cups that will have you going ‘oh my mum had those’.

Rafe Crompton, a wonderfully subtle performance by Les Dennis, is not a man to be trifled with. He’s the head of the family, a no-nonsense man of principle, he wants his tea on the table when he gets home from work and expects his children to bide by his rules.

Mina Anwar is his wife Daisy. She’s the home maker, keeper of the housekeeping purse which Rafe expects to balance every week. Sadly Daisy and money are not natural bedfellows and a little chicanery is often needed to keep up the pretence all is well.

Then there are the children - Florence, Harold, Hilda and Gabriel - all tired of living under what they consider the oppressive yoke of a domineering dad.

It’s a pretty simple scenario and yet, in Bill Naughton’s writing so beautifully observed, that the audience is the added, unseen guest in the family home as the drama unfolds.

It would be easy to simply regard Spring and Port Wine as a nostalgia piece harking back to a time when there were mills at the end of every street and wages came in a pay packet at the end of the week.

Spring and Port Wine actor Gabriel has Octagon to thanks for career

And, one of the many great things about this production, is that it doesn’t shy away from the times it was originally set in. It also shows us that no matter how sophisticated we think we have become, we are basically facing many of the same issues in our everyday lives.

Rafe’s carefully constructed, carefully managed world is thrown into chaos - sparked by a simple piece of fried herring for tea.

Unable or unwilling to change he threatens to bring the perfect world he has created crashing down as rebellion is threatened.

Les Dennis turns in a five-star performance. It would have been so easy for him to be the ‘over-the-top’ bully with a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude.

But he manages to portray the inner conflict within Rafe. He knows he’s flawed and that his actions are at the root of all the chaos around him but can he adapt and do something to change it?

His timing is immaculate and the scene in the second act where he and ‘Mother’ probably have their first honest and open conversation in all their years of marriage is a compelling piece of theatre which will leave you moved.

You’re also like to find yourself laughing ... a lot. From clever one-liners to moments of actual farce there is so much to bring a smile to your face.

Isabel Ford’s neighbour on the scrounge, Betsy-Jane, is a real scene stealer and the interplay between Gabriel Clark’s Wilf and Ryan’s Harold is a pretty good double act.

But what really stands out is just how normal everything is. This is a play about real people doing real live things. Yes it’s in a different era and some of the references are dated. But so much of it remains so relevant.

It’s not a museum piece; this is living, topical theatre about family life. It’s in part a love letter to the north but it’s also a celebration of families and of all their insecurities, quirks, idiosyncrasies and an overarching sense of love.

Go along, laugh out loud, be moved and see how many characters and traits you recognise from your own experiences.

Until March 4. Details from www.octagonbolton.co.uk