Billy Liar
by Keith Waterhouse

Set in the North of England in the early 1960’s, Billy Liar is the fantastic ‘day-in-the-life’ story of perpetual fantasist Billy Fisher, who lives with his despairing parents and ailing grandmother. With a compulsion to invent stories about everyone and anything the line between fact and fiction is constantly blurred. Billy finds himself engaged to two completely different girls and in love with a third, disillusioned with his job at the undertakers and struggling to fulfil his dreams of becoming a scriptwriter in London. Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hill produced a brilliant script that is superbly delivered by a strong cast of eight talented performers. Nathan Hannan was excellent has Billy and kept the energy and focus throughout, despite the very scare audience on opening night. Sally Sanders’ portrayal of Billy’s grandmother was extremely authentic. Dicken Ashworth played the frustrated father well and Helen Fraser, who was in the original film, was lovely in the role of Billy’s mother, Alice. The girlfriends, Rita and Liz, were beautifully played by Victoria Hawkins and Holly Quin-Ankrah. Adam Henderson Scott brought a great energy to the proceedings as Billy’s best friend, Arthur Crabtree. The star performance, however, came in the form of Lauren Drummond who played the orange-consuming fiancé, Barbara. Her characterisation was simply brilliant and it was plain to see why she is working so much, having played Jane Black in Heartbeat and Mika Granger in Waterloo Road and currently appearing as Lisa Foster in Harley Street and Hannah Sharpe in Holby City. Locally based Middle Ground Theatre Company produced this show, which was directed and designed by Michael Lunney. Although the set was imaginative and cleverly used, the direction was questionable in places, particularly in the first act, which was quite slow and laboured due to too many special effects. The second act, however, was a theatrical gem, with a delightfully executed duologue between Barbara and Billy’s mum, while the third act brings the story to its climatic and thought-provoking end. This is a show well worth seeing and it was sad to see so few people attending this classic piece of theatre. Billy Liar runs until Saturday.

- Rob Holcroft - Worcester Standard