Daisy pulls it off - Theatre Royal

It's 1927 and Denise Deegan’s ripping yarn about midnight feasts, jolly hockey sticks, water bottle fights and the missing Beaumont treasure is resurrected by director Ian Dickens.

It’s not often a show opens with full house lights, but Miss Gibson (Kim Hartman of ‘Allo Allo fame) had the job of introducing this show, complete with some comically stern treatment of embarrassed latecomers.

The cast of ‘gels’ proved themselves to be a splendid, tip-top set, especially heroine Daisy (Carly Hillman) and loyal best friend Trixie (Julia Mallam) who worked this tricky, occasionally slow, script with the help of excellent direction, especially during the hilarious cliff top scene.

The evening for me was lifted by the performances of sixth-formers Clare Beaumont (Jane Dowden) and Alice Fitzpatrick (Nicola Weeks) whose verve, sophistication, facial expressions and timing were real highlights, and led us to a satisfying finale.

This certainly isn’t a laugh-a-minute romp but Daisy does, eventually, pull this one off.