Falkirk Bohemians

Grangemouth Town Hall - October 25th 2024

Well now, here we have a few thoughts on this amateur production of Dolly Parton’s famous show 9 To 5.

Amateur can be such a demeaning word depending upon the context it is used. Here for example I use it inferring that this company is not paid for their efforts instead only for the pure joy of performance and entertainment. Amateur perhaps, however, the Falkirk Bohemians consistently put on shows, which can best be described, as excellent and most certainly value for money. The performers throw themselves into the main character roles or ensemble parts with gusto clearly having a damn good time. This exuberance flows off the stage delighting audiences and tonight, despite a few technical difficulties, proved the case yet again.

Let’s get rid of the tech problems first.  This temporary home resulted in the ten-piece band not being in the main auditorium but in a remote room.  So at the start the sound was not quite good enough, or in balance, with vocals kind of lost during the first song. Plus Dolly herself “appears on screen” and this audio, via a click track, was not in sync or clear either.  However the sound guy quickly got on top of the various delays and balances which resolved these difficulties.

For those perhaps not sure of the story arc we get an insight into the working lives three downtrodden secretaries Violet (Lisa Goldie), Doralee (Kirsty Meikle) and Judy (Amy Campbell) employed in a building run by a creepy, sexist, misogynistic bully Franklin Hart Jr (Paul Allinson). Pushed to their collective boiling points the girls begin to fight back against the times and management style of that era, circa early 1970s. Unfortunately I felt certain that a lot of the audience may well have experienced similar during their working lives. How things have thankfully changed a lot but with still more to go.

Anyway the ladies discover that, not only is the boss an obnoxious bully, but that he may also be lining his own pockets along the way. So that is the premise of the show and how the ladies grow to attain their rightful places within the company. Along the way there are a raft of floor tapping tunes delivered with passion and great dollops of enthusiasm.

There was also a Show Stop just after the beginning of act 2 resulting in a fifteen minute delay whilst the production team got on top of that difficulty (nice job folks) allowing the show to head along the home straight with no further halts.

The audience was almost completely on their feet dancing along to the final song, a reprise of, you guessed correctly, 9 To 5.

Amateur perhaps however the Bohemians are just so enthusiastic as a whole, with strong lead performers, that you come away with a fine happy feeling of having had a damn good night at the theatre. Well done, and thanks, to all.

Graeme Scott

K107FM