Porridge

After huge TV success in the 1970s and continuous re-runs on the BBC up to the present day, Porridge is considered one of the greats of British comedy. This year, the world premiere of the stage version is touring with Shaun Williamson, now quite the cult figure from contemporary comedy Extras, as he re-enacts Ronnie Barker’s iconic Fletcher.

Technically, Porridge is a decent production. Nothing stands out as being particularly impressive, but equally there are few overt faults. The set is simple, although the constant changes prevent the development of any real pace, and the lighting and sound effects serve to enhance the prison lock-down atmosphere. With the exception of actor Ryan Winston's questionable Scottish accent as McLaren, the acting is strong, and Shaun Williamson certainly stands out with a diverse display and a knack for both precise comic timing and serious drama when necessary.

To give it its due, the show is a joke from the start, with all the word-play to be expected from the British classic. It is painfully noticeable, however, that only one or two gags manage to get the entire half-capacity audience laughing. The show attempts a few social commentaries, but none are significant enough to encourage more than a momentary pondering, if at all, of its present relevance.

Where Porridge really lets itself down is in the script. Lacking any plot whatsoever, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais have instead lazily thrown together random sketch-like scenes from the original TV series. Although this format might appeal to die-hard Porridge fans, it alienates those audience members who are less familiar with the programme. The assumption of prior knowledge means that character development is practically non-existent, and we are instead presented with an unnecessarily large cast of fifteen two-dimensional caricatures. Combined, this makes Porridge disjointed and difficult to follow, with an abrupt and nondescript ending.

This stage version is, disappointingly, completely unsuited for theatre, and the writers would have done better to have created a one-off self-contained ‘episode’ instead of the mishmash of stale oats and sour milk that doesn’t quite know what it’s trying to be. This adaptation is certainly not the deliciously warm and filling Porridge it could have been.