Audience relives its Happiest Days as Rubery Drama Group bring fun, farce and the feelgood factor - The Bromsgrove Standard

Audience relives its Happiest Days as Rubery Drama Group bring fun, farce and the feelgood factor

Bromsgrove Editorial 22nd Oct, 2015 Updated: 17th Oct, 2016   0

THE HAPPIEST Days of Your Life is a delightful farce by John Dighton that was wonderfully staged by Rubery Drama Group.

Set in a boys boarding school in 1948 after the war, it could not have been in a more traditional British setting and, as you would expect, had plenty of traditional British humour with some fantastic one-liners and puns.

It centred around Hilary Hall School as the staff were preparing for the new academic year with pupils returning from their evacuation. But their plans were thrown into turmoil when pupils from another – uninhabitable – school were drafted in. And, much to the annoyance of the staff there, they were not the boys they were used to or expected!

The beauty of this play is the great array of characters and the relationships between them and the actors excelled at bringing them to life – the chemistry between those on stage was a joy to watch.




Among the best performances on the night were Sean Sawyer as Dick Tassell and Paul Harris as Rupert Billings – they had a great understanding on stage to a point where they could have finished each other’s sentences.

Jayne Worth was excellent as the formidable and fearsome principal of St Swithins Mrs Evelyn Whitchurch. Such was her performance, it had the audience willing the staff and pupils of Hilary Hall to evade her wrath.


Paula Hogarth was great as the sporty Miss Gossage, especially in the scenes when she was trying to capture the heart of Rupert Billings.

But the main love interest in the show was Tassell and Joyce Harper (Julie Brotherhood) and you found yourself willing them to get together all evening.

Grumpy school porter Rainbow, expertly played by Roy Watton, also got lots of chuckles – both when he took centre stage and when he was in the background, carrying out his daily chores.

As with all good farces, the pace picked up as the production progressed as the characters – although anti-each other – were forced to work together for the good of their, and their school’s reputations amidst visits from some very unhappy parents.

As the situations increased in severity for those involved, there were some real laugh out loud moments.

And just as you thought you knew how it would end, there was an unexpected twist and even a feelgood ending – for at least two of the characters.

The Happiest Days of Your Life definitely sent the audience home happy after a great night of fun and farcical entertainment.

The current production is directed by Bob Sawyer who also directed the piece when it was performed by Rubery Drama Group in 1982.

The remaining performances are on Friday (October 23) and Saturday (October 24) at 7.30pm.

Tickets, at £7 (£6 concessions) are available by calling 0121 453 8733 and 0121 445 2323.

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