Sailor, Beware! by Philip King and Falkland Cary was first produced for the West End in 1955 with a film version in 1956. This is the Tower's second production of the play.

The play was sold to me (or not, as the case may be) as an old fashioned farce full of standard 1950's working-class caricatures and I am aware that several people wondered at it as a choice to start the season in 2015. But really it was so much more than that. Yes, it was funny with slapstick elements but all cleverly interwoven with a heart which was quite a serious story about a micro-managing bully of a wife and mother, Emma Hornett, whose only child, Shirley, is marrying Albert Tufnell the next day. Albert is an orphaned sailor soon to leave his national service who met Shirley when her father Henry, brought him home for a place to sleep and a home-cooked meal and Emma has never forgiven him for it. Add into the mix Henry's spinster sister Edie, whose 'great sorrow' is that she was jilted at the altar years before, the busy-body neighbour Mrs Lack, cousin Daphne the flirtatious bridesmaid and the best man Carnoustie Bligh, a sworn bachelor. After a night of tension and arguments about trips to the pub, pregnant ferrets and anything else the mother-of-the-bride can think of to criticise Albert and Henry for, Aunt Edie lets slip to Albert that Emma has put a down payment on number 24 just down the road as a wedding present. Albert gives Shirley plenty of chances to tell him herself which she doesn't take up and the next day he doesn't show at the wedding. Of course being a comedy everything works out with the help of the vicar, Mr Purefoy, and we have reason to hope Emma will leave the newlyweds to find their own way through the difficult first years of marriage more than three doors away and that even Emma and Henry may live happily ever after.

Philip Ley's production boded well from the moment we saw the set. It was the perfect 1950s small terrace house designed by Philip himself complete with a small view of the hallway and the kitchen, a sideboard complete with the white mark left by the hot tea pot and a foldaway sofa bed!

Costumes by Lynda Twydale were also spot on right down to the lovely 1950s wedding dress and jacket, bridesmaid, sailor and mother of the bride outfits with some amazing hats!

First of all I must commend Philip Ley on creating such a strong ensemble of performers so obviously committed to the production and each other. They played the drama and poignancy as well as the slapstick to perfection. Any professional clown or comedian will tell you that physical comedy takes a lot of practice, and timing-wise everything went like clockwork which of course created much of the humour. I fully believed these people opened this sofa, laid that table, used that door, that cabinet etc. every day of their lives. An actor would finish a line or a move and there would be a cup of tea or a teapot or another person, exactly where and when they were required to be for the laugh. The scene where Michael Bettell as Henry comes in drunk with Sebastian Chrispin as Albert and Neil Streete as Carnoustie trying to keep him quiet, still makes me chuckle now when I think of it; with figurines and china being thrown over his shoulder and caught by his escorts seemingly almost by accident. It was so precise and seamless, it was almost a ballet.

I did think for a while, having previously watched ten minutes of the film on YouTube, that it was a shame some of the actors seemed to be almost copying the originals. However, it was a directorial choice, which worked extremely well. And it did feel very organic and never forced so Philip Ley as director obviously and very admirably helped the cast find their own way to where he wanted them rather than imposing something onto them. He was also blessed with an outstanding cast who obviously worked very hard, found the truth rather just playing the 'funny' so that you actually cared about the people while you laughed and found the perfect accents and bearings for the period.

The aforementioned Michael Bettell was perfect as hen-pecked Henry who knew how to speak his mind when it was necessary. He and Sue Brodie as Edie who is always excellent value for money, were born to play brother and sister. I fully believe them as a pair of siblings who had spent over twenty nerve-racking years under Emma's thumb. In fact the whole family actually did look and act like one.

Angharad Ormond and Neil Streete were lovely in the roles of cousin Daphne Pink and best man Carnoustie Bligh. What luck for Philip having an actual Scot to play the role first played by a very young Gordon Jackson. The roles are basically sounding boards but were fully rounded. I didn't quite believe in Daphne's full-on attraction to Carnoustie but this might actually be a weakness in the script not giving her enough time. But she was certainly a fledgling man-eater so it still worked. One of my favourite moments was (and I would love a backstage picture of how they managed it - I imagine stage-management holding them by the ankles and lots of back exercises!) was when Daphne and Carnoustie fell onto the set but not the floor, in full lip-lock when the door was opened. Janet South as usual was perfect as the butter-wouldn't melt Mrs Lack who loves to come in and dispense gossip and stir rivalry. Her voice, manner, timing and the élan with which she carried off the outrageous costumes devised for her were priceless.

Sebastian Chrispin and Ruth Anthony as Albert and Shirley were sweet and lovely and fully believable as the excited, nervous and genuinely loving bride and groom. Ruth even picked up nuances of both her mother, Emma and her Aunt Edie in all the right places. Colin Guthrie as the Reverend Oliver Purefoy was the calming breath of sensible fresh air who sorted everything out. His wry, patient smile and quiet voice amongst all the shouting and wailing was lovely and brought its own humour, setting up laughs for others but also reeling in the ones set up for him to bring home. One case in point being his entrance, as Emma says she'd rather her daughter marry the first man to walk through the door if he was the devil himself and the good reverend quietly enters and asks if he may come in; which with Colin's excellent timing, brought the house down.

But my hat must go off to Jessica Hammett who was playing much older than her own age. I have been told she was actually the youngest member of the cast and still managed to believably play this larger than life matriarch with a grown-up daughter. Yes, it was extremely close to being an impersonation of Peggy Mount; the original and film Emma but she still made it her own within that decision and you actually cared for her because you could see the woman beneath the bluster. The physical comedy of this woman who towered over and bullied her husband, did of course make you wonder how they ever managed to create even one child but there was a genuine fondness there and I did find myself wondering at the end of the play whether or not Henry was going to have a 'good' night.

So all in all Sailor, Beware! was a perfect way to banish the January blues, blow off the Christmas cobwebs and start the new Tower season. I could be picky and mention a few little quibbles but why bother; I enjoyed it. I left my brain at the door and had a good time. It was definite proof that old kitchen sink classics can still make us laugh, and laughter never goes out of style. Well done to Philip Ley and his cast and crew (all that tea and food!) for starting the year off with a bang.

Photography by David Sprecher