Ding Dong

Cairns Little Theatre's production of the comedy Ding Dong was beset by a real life situation when one of the lead actors was suddenly taken ill days before opening night and had to pull out of the production. Fortunately, experienced actor Peter Merrill bravely took to the stage, script in hand, to fill the void. Peter gave as good a performance as is possible with the short space three days that he was given to play the difficult lead role of George. The rest of the cast adjusted themselves to the changed circumstances as best they could and carried on with energy and enthusiasm on a well-designed set.

The plot revolved around wife swapping, mistaken identities and general mass confusion as doors open and close with rapidity. These types of productions are not easy to do as timing is all important. Thankfully, Paul Hynes as Robert was in excellent form keeping the fast-paced action on track and subtly helping Peter with the many difficult stage movements. Amara Ennis as the maid gave a good performance as did Mara Turner as Jacqueline, Ellis Neil as Barbara and Alice Bredhauer as Juliette.

The plot however was totally and utterly unbelievable with the mistaken identity scenarios pushed to the extreme. The climax of stupidity with the 'mistaken identity syndrome' was when Juliette pretended she was not Robert's wife, despite her everyday appearance, and Robert believing her. Total nonsense even for this type of production. Nevertheless, there was plenty of laughs as the characters somehow blundered on and complicated the plot right up to the final curtain.

Ken Cotterill 

Image: Paul Hynes (Robert) and Mara Turner (Jacqueline). Barton Photography.