Mikron Theatre's Operation Beach Hut at a venue near you!
- Charles Essex
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Operation Beach Hut written by Harvey Badger, performed by The Mikron Theatre at St Peter’s Parish Hall, Market Bosworth, 7 June 2025. Director Marianne McNAmara. For future dates and venues please check their website.
Review by Charles Essex.
Mikron Theatre has once again taken a humorous but poignant look at a British institution that is undergoing change in one of their two 2025 productions. The availability of cheap air travel and cheap package holidays has led to an increase in overseas holidays. British seaside venues took a real hit as their popularity declined and scriptwriter Harvey Badger focusses on Fiddling-on-Sea, where the annual beach hut competition becomes a battleground between traditionalists and entrepreneurs.
As usual, the four Mikron actors play numerous parts and numerous instruments. Rob Took is particularly skilled in portraying characters of ages ranging from teenagers upwards, whilst James McLean’s characterisation of Victorian pier architect Eugenius Birche was outstanding. His solo of Empty Shells as the old man reminiscing was especially moving. Georgina Liley and Catherine Warnock were variously grandmother and child, and stalwart of the beach huts and hut owner, respectively, and numerous other parts.
The recurring scenes with Georgina, Rob and James as seagulls were hilarious and a very clever device to link the scenes and move the plot along. The plot was one of Mikron’s favourite formulae of a community group falling on difficult times, whilst interspersing it with historical background. In the first half the story dragged but the pace and tension increased after the interval as one avaricious hut owner, wonderfully played by James, committed arson to try to thwart other hut owners.
Whatever their parts, they were all word perfect and their musicianship was superb. The songs, by Composer Amal El-Saward, were once again a perfect complement to the plot. Harvey’s script had numerous laugh-out-loud moments and delighted this full house. In their 53rd year of touring, this was another first class Mikron production.
* Operation Beach Hut is at The Three Cranes Pub Garden, High Street, Turvey (MK43 8EP) 2pm Sunday 8 June also at Hatton Locks Café (CV35 7JL) on Friday 15 July at 7pm and St Mary’s allotments (CV31 1DP) on Sunday 24 July at 2pm.
**For dates and venues for Mikron’s other production Hush Hush! get details from their website. Some venues are open access, and you may need to take your own chairs.
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