REVIEW - Can't Stop Carrying On!, Blue Orange Productions, 7th May 2025 - *****

Love ‘em or hate ‘em (though most of us are probably somewhere in-between), the Carry On films are about as steadfastly British as you can get. This homegrown series of cheaply-made comedies from the 50s to the 70s (plus the one-off revival attempt in the early 90s) is as synonymous as fish and chips and wet bank holidays. Can’t Stop Carrying On is three shows in one – it’s a nostalgic, jokey, blast from the past; an insightful depiction of the shifting British culture from the 50s to the modern era; and a drama about the man behind the franchise, and his gallant but flawed attempts to resurrect former glories.

Darren Haywood (c) Can't Stop Carrying On

Darren Haywood plays Peter Rogers, easily the most unrecognisable individual in this production, and understandably so – Rogers was behind-the-scenes, in his office at Pinewood Studios; he was the producer of all 31 films. He is vulnerable, and flawed… in the most uncomfortable moment of the 65-minute long play, Rogers is challenged by the press over his moral misguidance over actors wages and royalty fees, plus the underlying homophobia and sexism within the films. His repeated insistence that no name should come above the ‘Carry On’ title is proven wrong time and time again, and Rogers’ sometimes dismissive treatment of the iconic cast members is dutifully, if uncomfortably, told. Contentiously, however, Haywood’s Rogers is still thoroughly likeable - his Puck-like excitement and determination makes him easy to sympathise with, when his world and mantra comes tumbling down.

Darren Haywood (c) Can't Stop Carrying On

Haywood’s Rogers shares the stage with an un-trackable number of Carry On actors (and a couple of contemporary characters too). There’s a good slice of fan-service at one point, when Haywood shifts from one memorable one-liner to another in a “blink-and-you’ll-miss” cascade of impersonations, but for the most part, Haywood plays the household names, i.e. Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims. There’s no weakness in the bunch, but Haywood’s at his most startling when tackling the female voices – we’re really into “close-your-eyes-and-you’d-think-it-was-them” territory during his performance as Jacques and Windsor, in particular. There are no significant costume changes or props throughout the play; the magic is in the turn of the head, or a simple gesture. It’s this level of chameleon-like dexterity, and polish, that favour this admittedly script-bound story being a theatrical experience rather than an audio drama.James Nicholas has certainly done his research. His script is packed with anecdotes, reference points and Carry On folklore. For the diehard fans - and there were many in the auditorium at Goole Junction yesterday evening - it’s an easy, joyous ride through the famous and infamous goings on. For the rest of us (and, again, I am somewhere in-between), it’s informative at least, and often eye-opening at best. Nicholas prevents this all becoming a virtual PowerPoint presentation (the projector screen looming overhead is only there to display the advancing years, thank goodness). Instead, Nicholas has equipped Haywood with plenty of his own rumbustious dialogue, featuring Williams’ acerbic wit, to ribald single entendre exchanges between Windsor and James. The structure of the play is sound; as a retrospective piece, we know that Rogers’ attempts are going to either not take off or end in misery, which makes Rogers’ inevitable but drawn out fall from grace all the more poignant.

Darren Haywood (c) Can't Stop Carrying On

It's not harrowing, but it’s bleak viewing, at times. The personal life of Rogers is kept in the dark to an extent (we learn of his enduring marriage, but nothing of his background), but when the 80s give way to the 90s and beyond, Rogers’ laughter-makers go from casual acquaintances knocking about the studios, to ghostly apparitions rattling around in his mind. Or, more tellingly, in ours... Would the British public ever be forgiving of new faces tackling the Carry On stereotypes? Is the comedy style and attitudes now so urbane that no producer would even touch it? If this production falls short anywhere, it’s in the final execution here, as Nicholas leaves these opinions up to us rather than decidedly picking one side of the argument over the other. It’s clear that Rogers believes that the Carry On brand is not only eternal, but, to a degree, life-giving! One thing is for certain, everyone in the audience remembered the series very fondly, and Haywood’s vigorous showmanship is a humble slice of captivating theatre.

The set of 'Can't Stop Carrying On'

The Carry Ons sprung up in post-war Britain, where National Service was still the norm, the NHS was in its infancy, and rationing hadn’t been loosened for very long. Homosexuality was illegal. The Space Race and the Cuban Missile Crisis had the nation gripped, before the supposed Flower Power and Permissive Society swung in, giving way to demoralising strike action, cheap package holidays and a crumbling national film industry. There was so much space for self-mockery, and Rogers’ semi-satirical, modest comedies acted as an earnest, albeit frivolous, depiction of all this, over its initial 20-year span. I personally think a Carry On revival would be very timely! Yet, the only man who has ever produced a Carry On film has now passed on…  

This tribute to that man, and those actors, is a testament to their enduring talent and their legacy.

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