Hang on a minute lads I’ve got a great idea!

THERE is a treat in store for fans of the film The Italian Job and all things Michael Caine  at the Court Theatre in Tring next Friday and Saturday (Dec 9/10).

The film is being brought alive by a team of actors from the Frayed Knot Theatre Company who have been studying the it over the last few months to find ways of bringing all the classic moments from the film onto the Court Theatre stage.

The Italian Job is one of the most iconic films of the 1960s. It came out in 1969 with Michael Caine  playing the lead role of Charlie Croker.  When a master criminal is assassinated by the Mafia, Croker is given the plans for the robbery of the century - to steal £4million in gold bullion from the Fiat car company in Turin and from under the noses of the gangsters.

The plot hinges upon creating a massive traffic jam in the streets of Turin to steal the gold and to escape from the gridlocked city in Mini Cooper cars. They take an impossible route out of the city via roof tops, steps and underpasses, over rivers and through the city’s sewage system pursued by police. It’s anyone’s guess just how they are going to pull this off on stage at the Court Theatre!

Five actors play all the parts in “Hang On A Minute Lads I’ve Got a Great Idea”.  The film’s original cast featured some of the  great comedy actors of that era including Noel Coward,  Benny Hill  and Irene Handle.  A flavour of these performances are brought out in the show along with more recent comedy influences such as Paul Whitehouse’s comedy creation  “Michael Paine - The Nosey Neighbour” from  the TV show “Harry Enfield  and Chums”. 

The show captures the frenetic timing of the chase scenes providing a farce-like whirlwind adventure with ingenious theatrical devices enabling the show to move from scene to scene. There are a lot of quick changes plus  puppetry, singing and dancing. There may even be some opportunity for audience members to get involved in the heist.

Tickets available from the box office 07543 560 478 or www.courttheatre.co.uk

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