BANG BANG BEIRUT
(1977)
Our second production for this school year was the hilarious British farce “Bang Bang Beirut”. This was another fast-moving play that entertained the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which included word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases, culminating in an ending which involved an elaborate chase scene. Farce is also characterized by physical humour, the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense, and broadly stylized performances, and in this respect, the production certainly fulfilled the requirements!
In one rehearsal, during the lengthy “chase sequence”, Peter Aigner tripped going up the stairs and cracked his shinbone thus provoking some choice unscripted lines. The rest of the cast and crew, of course, found it funny to see and hear Peter writhing in agony so, naturally (and somewhat cruelly) laughed heartily! Peter, the trooper that he was, noticed that he had earned an unexpected laugh...he decided to “leave it in“ for the performances.
