Father Brown and the Curse of the Xmas Fairy
Posted on 10th January 2025
It has become something of a seasonal tradition that in the New Year, Common Ground Theatre Group pay the Corn Hall a visit to remind us that Christmas was only a fortnight ago. Best known for their ambitious adaptations of classic literary texts, it is the one time of year they let loose with a production that is inventive, preposterous and overwhelmingly silly.
Writer and director Pat Whymark’s reimaging of GK Chesterton’s Father Brown might seem a tad tame compared with the nuns, warlocks and vampires of previous years, but worry not. Whymark has gifted Matthew Rutherford’s Father Brown with a twin brother, a dual role that allowed Rutherford elbow room to escape the confines of his leading role. The brother was kidnapped by the eponymous Xmas Fairy, just one of the parts that tested Douglas Clarke Wood’s vocal skills. Such was the variety he brought to the fairy, Crispen, Vincent and Dolly it was a challenge to remember they were played by the same person. Julian Harries gave his signature nods and winks, breaking the fourth wall at every opportunity as the reformed villain Flambeau, while managing to squeeze in some cross dressing as Lady Palfrey. Playing a man disguised as a woman, a subtle but important distinction given his moustache, Joseph Aylward completed an all-male cast. Along the way, there was blackmail, familial intrigue, spoonerisms aplenty, and scene stealing penguins.
If that sounds like a heady mix, it’s fair to say that the company rarely let narrative coherence stand in the way of exuberant entertainment, something that was greatly appreciated by a packed house that laughed uproariously throughout. Add to the mix a selection of jaunty show tunes, a judicious sprinkling of bawdy humour, and some knowingly ham-fisted action figure puppetry, and one might conclude GK Chesterson would be spinning in his grave. I think it more likely he would be rocking with laughter.