Comedy gold in Foster premiere

THE original 1990s television series, ‘Keeping up Appearances’, is widely considered a masterpiece of British comedy.

Devised and written by Roy Clarke, its hilarious script and zany characters have made it enduringly popular, despite the fact that the last episode was filmed in 1995.

Clarke revisited the oddball characters for a 2014 play, which retains most of the main personalities from the series and introduces a couple of new ones.

Of course, there is Hyacinth Bucket (who insists that her surname should be pronounced ‘bouquet’), the snobbish housewife determined to climb the social ladder, in spite of her family’s working-class connections and the constant chagrin of her long suffering husband.

Hyacinth’s sisters and neighbours are still there with all their particular foibles.

There has however been some updating – Hyacinth has long since abandoned her “private slimline white telephone with no connection whatsoever to any business or trade” and she now wields a mobile phone.

FAMDA will be presenting the Victorian premiere of this made-for-the-stage play,
opening this Friday night at the Foster War Memorial Arts Centre with a stellar cast drawn from across the region.

Delighting FAMDA audiences will be Bruce Crowl, Denis McGrath, Margaret Rudge, Genevieve Slattery and Jill Warfe from the Foster area and a Bass Coast contingent with Kerrie Giles, Michael Knowles, Sally Lewer Ahern and Hamish Trumble.

‘Keeping up Appearances’ will be on stage in Foster for ten performances between April 22 and May 7.

The 3pm Sunday matinees are selling particularly fast and the Thursday special on April 28 is enticing with a single price of just $25 for all tickets.

Book your tickets online now via famda.org.au or trybooking.com/BXTPN.

Main Street Revelations in Foster is also supplying a booking service. Call 5682 1381.

Following state government regulations, all attendees aged over 18 must provide evidence of vaccination or a valid medical exemption before entering the FWMAC.