Tell him, Pike! Dad's Army Radio Show comes to Mansfield

The Dad’s Army Radio Show brings Jimmy Perry and David Croft’s classic BBC comedy to life at Mansfield Palace Theatre on Wednesday June 4.

Three episodes of the popular sitcom - adapted for radio for the very first time - are lovingly enacted on stage by two master performers, complete with vintage music and all those favourite characters and catchphrases.

The original television episodes newly minted for the Dad’s Army Radio Show are The Love of Three Oranges, The Miser’s Hoard and The Making of Private Pike.

The show is performed by David Benson and Jack Lane. Best-known for his performance as Noel Coward in the BBC's classic wartime comedy Goodnight Sweetheart, David exploded onto the theatre scene with his first solo show Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams, in 1996. The show became an instant classic, winning praises from audiences, critics and Dames Maggie Smith and Barbara Windsor for the accuracy of his portrayal as the Carry On star. He followed this with a succession of solo shows on a wide variety of subjects, including Frankie Howerd, Dr Johnson, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and an award-winning examination of the Lockerbie bombing. David was a cast member of the National Theatre's smash hit comedy One Man, Two Guvnors with James Corden, playing 1,015 performances of the show. He also appears in the film Blade Runner 2049 as a hologram of Liberace.

Jack founded Engine Shed Theatre Company in 2010. He soon adapted three episodes and two Christmas specials of the classic BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son receiving approval from the original writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. In 2015 Jack premiered Wisdom of a Fool, a self-penned one-man play based on the life and career of comedy icon Norman Wisdom. The play opened to critical acclaim and was endorsed by Wisdom's estate before embarking on an extensive tour.

The Dad’s Army Radio Show has received widespread critical acclaim. Radio Times said that “Benson and Lane’s two-man Army are a comedy force to be reckoned with,” while The Times hailed their “'pretty much perfect feat of mimicry”. Comedy great Barry Cryer called it “‘utterly brilliant – the best Dad’s Army recreation I’ve seen,” and Joan Le Mesurier, whose late husband John played Sgt Wilson in the comedy, said: “The speed, accuracy and comic timing are breathtaking - I loved it!”.

Visit mansfieldpalace.co.uk or call 01623 463133 to book.