Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall at Richmond Theatre

I used to be a regular visitor to Richmond Theatre (i.e. 3 times a month) until the refit a few years ago and then the programme got bland and the prices went up and now I only go if something special tempts me.

And an adaptation of Spike Milligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall certainly counts as special as I loved the books and it had been getting good reviews elsewhere.

Also it was on on my birthday and I was looking for something to treat myself to!

The show tells some of Spike Milligan's war time stories through drama supplemented by the occasional narration to highlight some of the key events and some period music to lighten the tone.

The scenes with the band also allowed the cast to directly address us, the audience, as if we were the audience for the jazz band and that interaction added to the fun, particularly when we were warned that our clapping might cause the building to collapse and it did!

The show is a series of short varied scenes that string together to make a clever and consistent whole that felt like a good Radio 4 show, something like Loose Ends when Ned Sherrin was in charge.

If you like Spike Milligan and Radio 4, then this show will entertain you from humorous start to emotional end. It entertained me richly.