Mission accomplished - Dick Barton entertains at the Garrick (From Messenger Newspapers)

Mission accomplished - Dick Barton entertains at the Garrick

9:54am Tuesday 9th February 2010

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DICK Barton - Special Agent is quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

It’s a sort of musical adult pantomime with some Carry On style jokes thrown in. When I say “adult” I don’t mean seedy and you could take granny to see this gloriously daft, cartoonish caper.

Being a child of the 60s the archetypal English hero who inspired the piece means nothing to me, but I could really appreciate what is being sent up here. The sort of Englishman who’s retains a stiff upper lip in a crisis, uses phrases like “Johnny foreigner” and drinks tea from bone china cups.

Spoofs can get on your nerves but this Altrincham Garrick production, expertly directed by Charlie Cook, is perfectly pitched, with a strong, animated and energetic cast effortlessly bringing their characters to life and making the most of the fun dialogue.

Laura Chandler plays - among other roles - Martha Heartburn, henchwoman of Barton’s arch enemy, Baron Scarheart. For me, this is Laura’s finest performance on this stage to date and her late dad Terry, a stalwart of this theatre, would have been proud of her. Adam Whittle is also very impressive as Barton and his cockney sidekick, Snowy.

Dick Barton - Special Agent simply sets out to entertain and it’s definitely a case of mission accomplished in a production that’s a real antidote to the February gloom. Enjoy. Rick Bowen * Until Saturday. The box office is on 0161 928 1677. Star rating - ****

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