The theatre was packed for the premiere of Dad’s Army Revisited – and I think the actors deserved the presence of each member of the audience.

The play was as much fun as you would expect it to be, with moments of pure comedy brilliantly performed by all actors.

But what really deserves praise is how all the cast worked together to bring the scenes of the classic BBC sitcom to life.

Director Gwyneth Savage and assistant director Jane Douglas must have toiled really hard to make this play work due to the number of performers on stage.

Don’t get me wrong, the theatre doesn’t lack space, but in some scenes there were up to 26 actors on stage with dancing and all sorts of other things going on.

And although I’m usually one of those easily distracted spectators, I didn’t miss a thing.

In the first half we saw War Dance , where Private Pike (Andrew Young) tries to announce his engagement to Violet Gibbons (Millie Hardy-Sims) against the will of Captain Mainwaring (Tony Parker) and Sergeant Wilson (Geoff Hall).

I was really impressed when I saw that the directors managed to orchestrate up to nine couples dancing on stage with other actors filling the scene as band members or party attendees.

No-one stood on anyone’s toes as they danced to a foxtrot or a waltz and the scene really gave me the impression of sitting at a table in a quiet corner of the room, enjoying the ball myself.

In the second half we enjoyed the ever funny The Love of Three Oranges , where the part-time soldiers hold a fundraising day for the troops.

There was a tombola, a jumble sale, a tarot reader and an unusual wine tasting all happening at once, while a weird orange-gate was taking place between warden Hodges (Ed McGee) and Captain Mainwaring. The excellent direction made it one of the liveliest scenes of the show.

This play is definitely worth seeing if you fancy an evening of good comedy.

Dad’s Army Revisited will be performed until Saturday at the Theatre Royal, Washington Street.

Performances start at 7.30pm each night.

Tickets cost £10 (concessions £9), and can be booked online at www.theatre-royal-workington.co.uk

FEDERICA BEDENDO